Chemistry of Semiconductor Clusters.

Semiconductor clusters have a rich and varied chemistry which depends on cluster size and composition. These are the notes for a series of lectures on the topic of semiconductor cluster reactivity given at the Enrico Fermi School of the Italian Physical Society. Experimental techniques and results of studies of the reactions of carbon and silicon cluster are described. Possible reaction mechanisms are given based on analogous chemistry of organic and organosilicon species. Relationships between the observed reactivity and electronic structures and bonding in these clusters are explored. Correlations are also shown with bulk surface chemistry and gas phase particulate formation.