Threshold photoelectrons coincidence molecules

A number of techniques have been used previously for the study of state-selected ion-molecule reactions. In particular, the use of resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) [21] and threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence (TPEPICO) [22] has allowed the detailed study of effects of vibrational state selection of ions on reaction cross sections. Neither of these methods, however, are intrinsically capable of complete selection of the rotational states of the molecular ions. The TPEPICO technique or related methods do not have sufficient electron energy resolution to achieve this, while REMPI methods are dependent on the selection rules for angular momentum transfer when a well-selected intermediate rotational state is ionized in the most favorable cases only a partial selection of a few ionic rotational states is achieved [23], There can also be problems in REMPI state-selective experiments with vibrational contamination, because the vibrational selectivity is dependent on a combination of energetic restrictions and Franck-Condon factors. 

The threshold photoelectron-photoion coincidence technique using synchrotron radiation has been employed to study state-selected ion-molecule reactions. We review the experimental procedure and discuss our results on five representative systems [N2Ar]+ [N2H2]+ [ArH2]+ [HeH2]+ and [H2HJ+. Recent theoretical work on these systems is also summarized. 

The study of ion-molecule reactions using state-selected reagents has become a very exciting area of molecular dynamics. We have developed an experimental apparatus in Orsay which utilizes the properties of our tunable synchrotron radiation source at LURE to prepare ions in selected vibronic levels and then to study their reactions. The ions are state-selected using the TPEPICO (threshold-photoelectron/photoion coincidence) method [1]. 

The electron-impact spectra of methane have been compared with those of tetrafluoromethane and silane the spectra of all three molecules have been compared with the corresponding photoionization and photoelectron spectra. The relatively new technique of threshold electron-photoion coincidence mass spectrometry has been applied to, inter alia, methane and PH4]-methane. The technique permits the direct determination of the kinetics of dissociation of a molecular ion as a function of that ion. Thus, fragmentation of CHJ and CDJ has been determined as a function of internal energy and the results have been compared to previous photoionization, charge-exchange, and photoelectron-photoion coincidence mass-spectrometric results and to theoretical models. ... 

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