Helium dissociation

At the MP4(SDTQ)/6-311 G //MP2/6-31 G + ZPE level of theory, HeBCH Is predicted to be unstable toward helium dissociation by -6.0 kcal/mol [4], Calculated at the MP2/6-31G(d,p) level, HeBCH He + HCB ( A, 2tc) is -5.7 kcal/mol [11]. HeBCH is clearly a minimum on the 6-31G and MP2/6-31G potential energy surfaces however, while the predicted structure of HeBCH at the SCF level is linear, inclusion of correlation energy at MP2 predicts a trans bent geometry [4]. 

Precursor ions are selected by Ql and passed into the collision cell (Q2 orq2 of Figure 33.5). Here, collision with an inert gas (argon or helium) causes dissociation to occur, and the resulting fragment (product) ions are detected by scanning Q3 (Figure 33.6). 

In an atom of the second column of the periodic system, such as mercury, the two valence electrons are in the normal state s-electroiis, and form a completed sub-group. Two such atoms would hence interact in a way similar to two helium atoms the attractive forces would be at most very small. This is the case for Hg2, which in the normal state has an energy of dissociation of only 0.05 v.e. But if one or both of the atoms is excited strong attractive forces can arise and indeed the excited states of Hg2 are found to have energies of dissociation of about 1 v.e. 

Peptides inside the mass specttometet ate broken down into smaller units by coUisions with neuttal helium atoms (collision-induced dissociation), and the masses of the individual fragments are determined. Since peptide bonds are much more labile than carbon-carbon bonds, the most abundant fragments will differ from one another by units equivalent to one or two amino acids. Since—with the exception of leucine and isoleucine—the molecular mass of each amino acid is unique, the sequence of the peptide can be reconstructed from the masses of its fragments. 

Electrical discharges through samples of helium gas generate He cations, some of which bond with He atoms to form Hc2 cations. These fall apart as soon as they capture electrons, but they last long enough to be studied spectroscopically. The bond dissociation energy is 250 kJ/mol, approximately 60% as strong as the bond in the H2 molecule, whose bond order is 1. 

Positive ion FAB mass spectra obtained with a double focusing mass spectrometer produced abundant molecular ions ([M] +) of carotenes and xanthophyUs with minimal fragmentation and no detectable thermal decomposition. Fragmentation of the precursor ion was enhanced by collision-induced dissociation (CID) using helium gas. ... 

Evidence emerges from both the microcatalytic and spectroscopic studies for enhanced dissociative interaction of N,0 with preoxidised RhO,/CeO, materials exposed to helium-flush or vacuum-outgassing at T > 573 K. This is consistent with generation of reduced active-sites, such as electron-vacancy complexes, by such treatments. 

Ion extraction. The aspirated or laser ablated sample is transported from the sample introduction system into the center of the torch by a 1 1/min flow of Ar carrier gas where it is immediately dissociated and ionized by energy transfer with the hot -6000 K temperature of the surrounding Ar plasma. Ionization efficiencies are >95% for U and Th (Jarvis et al., 1992). For laser ablation sampling, helium may be employed as the carrier... 

In most cases, ion activation in the reaction region or fragmentation zone is applied to increase the internal energy of the ions transmitted from the ion source. The most common means of ion activation in tandem mass spectrometry is collision-induced dissociation. CID uses gas-phase collisions between the ion and neutral target gas (such as helium, nitrogen or argon) to cause internal excitation of the ion and subsequent dissociation... 

The recombination of He is a special case. We include it here because of the similarities with H3 and because it is the only known example where three-body recombination of a diatomic molecular ion dominates over the binary process. The literature on the helium afterglow is quite large and we will not be able to do justice to all aspects of this problem. Mulliken71 had predicted that fast dissociative recombination of Hej should not occur due to a lack of a suitable curve crossing between the ionic potential curve and repulsive curves of He. Afterglow experiments in pure helium, at sufficient pressure to enable formation of Hej ions, have confirmed this expectation. It does not appear that the true binary recombination... 

The second step in the reaction, dissociation of the Hej Rydberg molecule, is similar to dissociative recombination of He with a free electron. For this reason, Bates73 called this recombination mechanism Rydberg dissociative recombination. It enhances the overall loss rate of free electrons because the stabilization of He2 prevents the return of weakly bound electrons to the population of free electrons. The reaction plays the same role as the reaction of H with H2 that we discussed in Section IV.C. As has been discussed by Bates, the mechanism also provides an explanation for spectroscopic observations of atomic and molecular emissions in helium afterglows. There is direct evidence for the existence of a substantial population of weakly bound electrons in helium afterglows.74 Most likely, the weakly bound electrons are Rydberg electrons in He2 molecules. 

Assuming thermal equilibrium at a density of 108 gmcm 3, find the temperature at which half the helium has been dissociated. 

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