The gas-phase solvation of the zirconium oxide ion: ZrO+·CO2 and ZrO+·N2

ZrO+·CO2 and ZrO+·N2 molecules have been synthesized in a molecular beam and spectroscopically characterized for the first time. Resonant photodissociation in a mass spectrometer is used to investigate the optical spectrum of the isolated ion. The spectra of these two ions are similar and show a single electron transition from the ground state with short upper-state progressions in three vibrational modes: the ZrO+ solute stretch, the ZrO+ ↔ CO2(N2) complex stretch and the ZrO+ ∢ CO2 (N2) complex bond. The diatomic (solute) stretching vibrational frequency is independent of solvent, but a significant red-shift in the electronic is observed upon the complexation which increases with increasing solvent binding energy.