Helium molecule formation

The Helium Molecule and Molecule-ion.—The simplest example of a molecule containing a three-electron bond is the helium molecule-ion, in which a Is eigenfunction for each of two identical atoms is involved. The two unperturbed states of equal energy are He He+ and He-+ He. The formation of this molecule might be represented by the equation He Is2 >5 + He+ Is 5 —>- He (Is + ls) 2 Three dots in a horizontal line placed between the two atomic symbols may be used to designate a three-electron bond He He+. 

I believe that the explanation of these facts is provided by the three-8 W. Weizel, Z. Physik, 59,320 (1929). Weizel and F. Hund [ibid., 63, 719 (1930) ] have discussed the possible electronic states of the helium molecule. Neither one, however, explains why He Is2 + He+ Is form a stable molecule-ion, nor gives the necessary condition for the formation of a three-electron bond. In earlier papers they assumed that both atoms had to be excited in order to form a stable molecule [W. Weizel, ibid., 51,328 (1928) F. Hund, ibid., 51, 759 (1928)]. 

In Sections 42 and 43 we shall describe the accurate and reliable wave-mechanical treatments which have been given the hydrogen molecule-ion and hydrogen molecule. These treatments are necessarily rather complicated. In order to throw further light on the interactions involved in the formation of these molecules, we shall preface the accurate treatments by a discussion of various less exact treatments. The helium molecule-ion, He , will be treated in Section 44, followed in Section 45 by a general discussion of the properties of the one-electron bond, the electron-pair bond, and the three-electron bond. 

The physical and chemical properties of an atom are determined by the number and configuration of electrons in its electronic retinue. These are arranged in layers or shells, in a well-defined order. Some atoms have more shells than others, or indeed their shells are more complete and better organised. Chemical properties and molecule formation are determined by the outer shell. This is because only the outer electrons can mediate in chemical bonds, playing the role of a common currency. Atoms in the first column of Mendeleyev s periodic table have a single electron in their outermost shell, whilst those in the second column have two, and so on, until we reach the noble gases which have eight electrons in their outer layer (except for helium, which has two). 

Some possible mechanisms for the quenching of pHe+ states were discussed in [29]. First, it is to be noted that the antiprotonic helium resembles a hydrogenlike atom from the physico-chemical point of view, since the pHe+ system has only one electron. The proton in this system is a high-lying state [pHe +]( q with a net charge - -1, but an effective charge around 1.6, depending on The other view of antiprotonic helium is that it is a kind of diatomic molecule with the two centers p and He +. One of the plausible processes is exotic molecule formation ... 

Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) by GC-IRMS became possible in 1978 due to work of Mathews and Hayes [634], based on earlier low-precision work of Sano et al. [635]. The key innovation was the development of a catalytic combustion furnace based on Pt with CuO as oxygen source, placed between the GC exit and the mass spectrometer. The high pressure of helium (99.999% purity or better) ensures that all gas flows are viscous. After being dried in special traps avoiding formation of HC02 (i. e., interferes with 13C02) by ion-molecule reactions in the ion source, the C02 is transmitted to a device that regulates pressure and flow and then into the ion source [604]. 

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