Molecular beam detection

A molecular beam scattering experiment usually involves the detection of low signal levels. Thus, one of the most important considerations is whether a sufficient flux of product molecules can be generated to allow a precise measurement of the angular and velocity distributions. The rate of fonnation of product molecules, dAVdt, can be expressed as... 

Figure B2.3.7. Schematic apparatus of crossed molecular beam apparatus with synclirotron photoionization mass spectrometric detection of the products [12], To vary the scattering angle, the beam source assembly is rotated in the plane of the detector. (By pemrission from AIP.)...

Yang X, Lin J, Lee Y T, Blank D A, Suits A G and Wodtke A M 1997 Universal crossed molecular beams apparatus with synchrotron photoionization mass spectrometric product detection Rev. Sc/. Instrum 68 3317-26... 

This book presents an extensive and detailed description of basic teclmiques for the generation and detection of atomic and molecular beams, as well as beam teclmiques for the study of molecular scattering processes. 

An alternative approach to obtaining microwave spectroscopy is Fourier transfonn microwave (FTMW) spectroscopy in a molecular beam [10], This may be considered as the microwave analogue of Fourier transfonn NMR spectroscopy. The molecular beam passes into a Fabry-Perot cavity, where it is subjected to a short microwave pulse (of a few milliseconds duration). This creates a macroscopic polarization of the molecules. After the microwave pulse, the time-domain signal due to coherent emission by the polarized molecules is detected and Fourier transfonned to obtain the microwave spectmm. 

New to the fourth edition are the topics of laser detection and ranging (LIDAR), cavity ring-down spectroscopy, femtosecond lasers and femtosecond spectroscopy, and the use of laser-induced fluorescence excitation for stmctural investigations of much larger molecules than had been possible previously. This latter technique takes advantage of two experimental quantum leaps the development of very high resolution lasers in the visible and ultraviolet regions and of the supersonic molecular beam. 

Molecular beams provide the answer. We first met molecular beams in Box 4.1, where we saw how a velocity selector is constructed. A molecular beam consists of a stream of molecules moving in the same direction with the same speed. A beam may be directed at a gaseous sample or into the path of a second beam, consisting of molecules of a second reactant. The molecules may react when the beams collide the experimenters can then detect the products of the collision and the direction at which the products emerge from the collision. They also use spectroscopic techniques to determine the vibrational and rotational excitation of the products. 

There are several methods in use for producing these clusters. Particle bombardment or laser vaporization of a graphite surface leads to direct formation of ions that can be detected by mass spectrometry. These are normally of relatively small size (n<30). By laser vaporization of graphite into a molecular beam neutral... 

Steady-state molecular beam studies of the reaction of methylacetylene on reduced Ti02 (001) surfaces were undertaken to determine whether this reaction could be performed catalytically under UHV conditions. A representative experiment is presented in Figure 1. Prior to each experiment, the surface was sputtered and annealed to a temperature between 400 K and 550 K surfaces prepared in this manner have the highest fraction of Ti(+2) sites (ca. 30% of all surface cations) of any surface we have been able to create by initial sputtering [3]. Thus these are the surfaces most active for cyclotrimerization in TPD experiments [1]. Steady-state production of trimethylbenzene (as indicated by the m/e 105 signal detected by the mass spectrometer) was characterized by behavior typical of more traditional catalysts a jump in activity upon initial exposure of the crystal to the molecular beam, followed by a decay to a lower, constant level of activity over a longer time scale. Experiments of up to 6 hours in duration showed... 

Syage JA, Pollard JE, Cohen RB. 1988. Ultrasensitive detection of atmospheric constituents by supersonic molecular beam, multiphoton ionization mass spectroscopy. El Segundo, CA Aerospace Corp. NTIS No. AD-A202-299. 

Although TPD is a versatile and useful technique widely available within the surface-science community, it does have some limitations. For one, because the experiments are carried out under vacuum, they can only probe irreversible reactions no readsorption of the desorbing products is possible. In addition, as the temperature is ramped during detection, the surface temperature and the reaction rates become coupled in a way difficult to separate or control. Of particular importance here is the fact that as the reactions proceed and the products desorb, the surface coverages decrease, so the rates at higher temperatures correspond to the new lower surface concentrations. In order to overcome this problem, isothermal kinetic experiments have been carried out using molecular beams [22,23],... 

Another approach to the determination of surface kinetics in these systems has been to combine molecular beams in the 10 2-10 1 mbar pressure range with the use of the infrared chemiluminescence of the C02 formed during steady-state NO + CO reactions. This methodology has been used to follow the kinetics of the reaction over Pd(110) and Pd(l 11) surfaces [49], The activity of the NO + CO reaction on Pd(l 10) was determined to be much higher than on Pd(lll), as expected based on the UHV work discussed in previous sections but in contrast with result from experiments under higher pressures. On the basis of the experimental data on the dependence of the reaction rate on CO and NO pressures, the coverages of NO, CO, N, and O were calculated under various flux conditions. Note that this approach relied on the detection of the evolution of gas-phase... 

The effect of oxidizing atmospheres on the reduction of NO over rhodium surfaces has been investigated by kinetic and IR characterization studies with NO + CO + 02 mixtures on Rh(lll) [63], Similar kinetics was observed in the absence of oxygen in the gas phase, and the same adsorbed species were detected on the surface as well. This result contrasts with that from the molecular beam work [44], where 02 inhibits the reaction, perhaps because of the different relative adsorption probabilities of the three gas-phase species in the two types of experiments. On the other hand, it was also determined that the consumption of 02 is rate limited by the NO + CO adsorption-desorption... 

H2 molecular beam. The H-atom products were detected by the Rydberg tagging TOF technique using the same scheme described in the last paragraph with a rotatable MCP detector. Figure 4 shows the experimental scheme of the crossed beam setup for the 0(1D) + H2 reactive scattering studies. The scheme used for the H + D2(HD) studies is very similar to that used in the 0(1D) + H2 except that the H-atom beam source is generated from HI photodissociation rather than the 0(1D)-atom beam source from 02 photodissociation. 

The advancement of the application of lasers in combination with the molecular beam technique has made a great impact in the understanding of primary photodissociation processes. For state-specific detection of small fragments, laser-induced fluorescence, multiphoton ionization, and coherent laser scattering have provided extremely detailed information on the dynamics of photodissociation. Unfortunately, a large number of interesting... 

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