Formation of mixed clusters in a pulsed supersonic helium-oxygen-isoprene jet

An experimental study of the formation of mixed van der Waals oxygen-isoprene complexes, generated in an expanding supersonic helium-oxygen-isoprene jet at various stagnation pressures and at diverse oxygen and isoprene concentrations, has been performed. To measure the composition and distribution of the partial densities of the individual components, molecular beam mass spectrometry was adapted to pulsed modes of gas source operation. The particularities of applying mass spectrometry to studying clustered isoprene streams in a pulsed mode have been discussed. The composition of small clusters generated in a free supersonic jet has been checked for dependencies upon the initial mixture composition and stagnation pressure. The mechanism of nucleation has been identified for different partial concentrations of impurities in the helium stream. It has been shown that, even at a 0.3% concentration of isoprene in the mixture, nucleation starts with the formation of hydrocarbon complexes. The specific features of the dissociative ionization of van der Waals complexes, consisting of pure isoprene and mixed complexes, have been discussed. The conditions needed for the formation of binary oxygen-isoprene van der Waals complexes have been identified.