The vertical and adiabatic ionization energies of silicon carbide clusters, (SiC)$_n$, with n=1-12.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is one of the major cosmic dust components in carbon-rich environments. However, the formation of SiC dust is not well understood. In particular, the initial stages of the SiC condensation (i.e. the SiC nucleation) remain unclear, as the basic building blocks (i.e. molecular clusters) exhibit atomic segregation at the (sub-)nanoscale. We report vertical and adiabatic ionization energies of small silicon carbide clusters, (SiC)$_n$ , n=2-12, ranging from 6.6-10.0 eV, which are lower than for the SiC molecule ($\sim$ 10.6 eV). The most favorable structures of the singly ionized (SiC)$_n^+$, n=5-12, cations resemble their neutral counterparts. However, for sizes n=2-4, these structural analogues are metastable and different cation geometries are favored. Moreover, we find that the (SiC)$_5^+$ cation is likely to be a transition state. Therefore, we place constraints on the stability limit for small, neutral (SiC)$_n$ clusters to persist ionization through (inter)-stellar radiation fields or high temperatures.