Excited states of gaseous ions. V. The predissociation of the h2o+ ion

The B?² state of H₂O⁺ is predissociated twice. First, by the ã⁴B₁ state, giving OH⁺ + H fragments via spinorbit coupling interaction. Secondly, by a²A state, giving H ⁺ OH fragments via spin-orbit coupling and Coriolis interactions. A vibrational analysis of the photoelectron band of the B? state of H₂O⁺ and D₂O⁺ is carried out. This provides the vibrational frequencies of the H₂O⁺, D₂O⁺ and HDO⁺ ions, as well as a vibrational assignment of the peaks. The H₂O⁺ ion in its B?²B₂ state is found to have a OH bond length of 1.12 A and a valence angie of 78°.In order to describe the unimolecular fragmentation process, a distinction is introduced between the totally symmetric, optically active vibrational modes, and the antisymmetric ones which are coupled to the continuum. The former are supplied with photon or electron impact energy, but only the latter are chemically efficient. The dynamics of the dissociation process depends therefore on the couplings among normal modes. This is studied in the framework of two models. In Model 1, it is assumed that, as a result of the anharmonicity of the potential energy surface, only even overtones of the antisymmetric vibration are excited by Fermi resonance. In Model II, excitation of the odd overtones is provided by vibronic coupling. Model II is in better agreement with experiment than Model I. Calculated and experimental results have been compared on the following points: isotopic shift on the appearance potential of OH⁺ and OD⁺ ions, shapes of the photoionization curves, fragmentation pattern with 21 eV photons, presence of a unimolecular metastable transition, production of O⁺ ions. All the vibrational levels situated above the dissociation asymptote are totally predissociated. Autoionization is shown in this case to contribute only to the formation of molecular H₂O⁺ ions, and not to that of the OH⁺ fragments. For 21 eV electrons, the contribution due to direct ionization is calculated to represent about 25% of the total cross section, the rest being due to autoionization.     

Rate constant measurement for the reaction of D3+ with H2

The rate constant and the product distribution for the reaction of D₃⁺ with H₂ has been measured as a function of the D₃⁺ vibrational energy. In these experiments a mass analyzed beam of D₃⁺ ions is decelerated to less than 0.1 eV and is subsequently injected into an ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) cell where reaction with H₂ may occur. Ion detection is achieved using a conventional oscillator-detector. The number of D₃⁺-D₂ coliisions was varied from 0 to 10 by changing the D₂ pressure in the source of the first stage of the instrument.     

A State-selected study of the symmetric charge transfer reaction H2+ + H2

We have measured the relative total charge transfer cross sections of H₂⁺ + H₂ as a function of the vibrational state of H₂⁺, υ′_o = 0–4. using the crossed ion-neutral beam and high-resolution photoionization methods. The experimental results obtained at a center-of-mass collisional energy of 22.5 eV are found to be in excellent agreement with a recent theoretical study.     

Lifetimes of the vibronic Ã2A1 states of H2O+ and of the 3Πi (υ′ = 0) state of OH+

Using the delayed coincidence technique, lifetimes have been measured for some Σ and Π vibronic òA₁ states of H₂O⁺ and for the ³Π_i (υ′ = 0) state of OH⁺ by analysing the decay curves of the òA₁(0, υ′₂, 0) ? X?²B₁ (0, υ″₂, 0) and the ³Π_i(υ′ = 0) ? ³Σ^?(υ″ = 0) emission intensities respectively. The excited molecular ionic states are produced via excitation of H₂O molecules by 200 eV electrons. For H₂O⁺(òA₁) the vibronic Σ levels with υ′₂ = 13 and 15 and the vibronic Π levels with υ′₂ = 12 and 14 have been considered. The radiative lifetimes obtained for these levels have about the same value, namely 10.5(±1) × 10^?6 s. The radiative lifetime for the OH⁺(³Π_iυ′= 0) state is 2.5(±0.3) × 10^?6 s. The lifetimes found in this work for H₂O⁺(òA₁) and OH⁺(³Π_i,υ′= 0) are about ten and three times longer respectively than the corresponding lifetimes given by other investigators [1,2]. The probable reason for this discrepancy is that in the other experiments no attention has been paid to the presence of a large space charge effect. This effect is caused by the positive ions which are created by the primary electron beam.     

Lifetimes of N2O+(Ã2Σ+) and COS+(Ã2Π) in selected vibronic levels

Lifetimes of selected vibrational levels of the predissociated òΣ⁺ and Ã²Π electronic states of N₂O⁺ and COS⁺, re- spectively, have been measured. These values have been used in conjunction with previous data on fluorescence quantum yields to obtain predissociation rates for the various vibrational levels.     

Mobilities of H+3 and HeH+ ions in helium gas and rate coefficient for HeH+ + H2 → H+3 + He

The mobilities of mass-identified H⁺₃ and HeH⁺ ions in helium and the reaction rate coefficient for HeH⁺ + H₂ → H⁺₃ + He have been measured by a drift-tube quadrupole mass spectrometer at 300 K. The zero-field reduced mobilities of H⁺₃ and HeH⁺ ions, corrected to 273 K, are 31.0 ± 0.8 and 23.4 ± 0.6 cm² V^?1 s^?1 respectively. The reaction rate coefficient was found to be (1.26 + 0.16) × 10^?9 cm³s^?1 and was observed to be independent of the mean ion kinetic energy in the range from 0.04 to 0.3 eV.     

The H2 elimination reactions of Ã2B3g C2H4+ and C2D4+

Kinetic energy releases from the unimolecular H₂ (D₂) elimination reactions of energy-selected òB_3gC₂H₄⁺(C₂D₄⁺) have been obtained by a photoelectron-photoion coincidence technique. The energy releases suggest a 1,1 elimination and are compatible with the presence of a small reverse activation energy barrier of the order of 0.02 eV. Such a barrier was indicated by a detailed ab initio study of this dissociation and the present results are discussed in the light of this theoretical treatment.     

Collisional Dissociation of CH3O2+

The collision-induced breakup of CH₃O₂⁺ ions, produced in various binary ion—neutral reactions, was investigated in a drift experiment in the energy range from 0.2 to 1.2 eV. The products observed were HCO⁺ (50%) and H₃O⁺ (50%), independent of the collision energy inducing the breakup. The energy barrier for the breakup is 22 ± 6 kcal/mole.     

Unimolecular dissociations of excited C3H6O+: A comparative photoelectron—photoion coincidence study of 1,2-epoxypropane and acetone

The unimolecular fragmentation of internal energy selected 1,2-epoxypropane cations has been studied by fixed-wavelength photoelectron—photoion coincidence spectroscopy. Branching ratios for the prominent fragment ions are reported up to an ionization energy of I = 14 eV. It is shown that 1,2-epoxypropane cations initially formed with none or only little vibrational excitation in the electronic ground state do not dissociate, though their excess energy with respect to the lowest energetic fragmentation pathway is 1.25 eV. As the internal energy is increased, slow fragmentation into several dissociation channels is observed. This is used to explain a comparably slow dissociation process observed in the case of acetone molecular ions initially excited to their electronic à state. CH₂C(OH)CH₃⁺ and/or CH₃CHCHOH⁺ are proposed as precursors for these low-rate unimolecular reactions.     

A further study of the near-thermoneutral reactions O2H+ + H2 ⇌ H3+ + O2

The forward and reverse rate coefficients for the reactions (1) O₂H⁺ + H2 ? H₃⁺ + O₂ and (2) O₂D⁺ + D₂ ? D₃⁺ + O₂ have been determined in a SIFT at 80 and 300 K, from which values of the enthalpy and entropy changes in the reactions have been obtained. The data indicate that the proton affinity of H₂ is greater than that of O₂ by 0.33 ± 0.04 kcal mole^?1; similary, the deuteron affinity of D₂ is 0.35 ± 0.04 kcal mole^?1 greater than that of O₂. The measurements of entropy changes confirm that O₂H⁺ has a triplet electronic ground state.     

Photodissociation of O2+(H2O)

The photodissociation cross section of the weakly bound positive ion cluster O₂⁺(H₂O) has been measured at 15 discrete energies between 1.833 and 2.727 eV. Measurements indicate the cross section increases smoothly from 0.6 to 6 × 10^-18 cm² over this energy range. These cross section values are the largest reported for a positive ion cluster of atmospheric importance.     

Measurements of differential cross sections for vibrational quantum transitions in scattering of Li+ on H2

A pulsed monoenergetic ⁷Li⁺ ion beam (lab. energy 10–40 eV) is scattered from a highly collimated (= 1.5°) H₂ nozzle beam. The time-of-flight spectrum of the ions scattered in the forward laboratory direction shows both a fast peak corresponding to forward center-of-mass scattering and a slow peak corresponding to wide-angle center-of-mass scattering. These peaks have been further resolved to show contributions from individual vibrational quantum transitions. From an analysis of the time-of flight spectra the differential inelastic cross sections for a wide range of angles and energies between 2 eV <E_cm < 9 eV have been determined. The spectra also contain information on rotational inelastic cross sections.     

Dynamics of the reaction H2+(He,H)HeH+. Influence of various forms of reactant energy on the total and differential cross section

Results of quasiclassical trajectory calculations of reactive processes between He atoms and H₂⁺ (υ, J) molecular ions in the collision energy interval 0.5–5.0 eV (c.m.) for a large number of selected υ, J combinations are analyzed with respect to the influence of the initial translational, vibrational, and rotational energy on the total and differential reaction cross sections. Vibrational energy is more effective in promoting the reaction than translational energy. Small rotational excitation has a negligible effect, whereas high rotational excitation has a similar influence on the reaction cross sections as the vibrational excitation of the same magnitude.     

Predissociation of the c3Πu state of H2, populated after charge exchange of H2+ with several targets at keV energies

A detailed study of the predissocitation of the c³Π_u state of H₂ has been made with a new, very sensitive, experimental technique. A resolution better than 1% is obtained in the measurement of the released kinetic energy of HH pairs after charge exchange of H₂⁺ with Ar, H₂, Mg, Na and Cs by detecting both fragments with a time- and position-sensitive microchannel-plate detector. Eighteen vibrational levels of the c³Π_u state can be clearly distinguished in the range of 7.2–10.2 eV. Detailed information is extracted from the spectra with the aid of a convolution procedure. The vibrational energy levels of the c³Π_u state as calculated by Ko?os and Rychlewski are found to be correct within the experimental accuracy of 5 meV. Predissociative lifetimes are measured, yielding 6.2±0.5 ns for the lowest rovibrational level (υ = 0, N = 1), which are in good agreement with theoretical calculations of Comtet and de Bruijn. The cross section for charge exchange is observed to increase gradually with the vibrational level and seems to follow the geometrical cross section of the molecule. Rotational excitation during the charge exchange is also found to increase considerably with the vibrational quantum number. The final rotational temperature further depends strongly on the target gas used and increases with the resonance energy defect ΔI in the charge exchange collision.     

An ab initio potential energy surface for the reaction N+ + H2 → NH+ + H

Preliminary results of ab initio unrestricted Hartree-Fock calculations for the potential energy surface for the reaction N⁺ + H₂ → NH⁺ + H are reported. For the collinear approach of N⁺ to H₂, the ³Σ^? surface has no activation barrier and has a shallow well (ca. 1 eV). For perpendicular approach (C_2v symmetry) the ³B₂ state is of high energy, the ³A₂ state has a shallow well but as the bond angle increases the ³B₁ state decreases in energy to become the state of lowest energy. Neither the collinear nor the perpendicular approaches give adiabatic pathways to the deep potential well of ³B₁ (HNH)⁺.     

The dynamics of Cl− + H2 reactive collisions

A multicoincidence analysis of the crossed beam Cl^? + H₂ system in the 5.6–12 eV energy range has shown the existence of four different product channels: reaction (R), reactive detachment (RD), simple detachment (SD) and dissociative detachment (DD). For the whole energy range both R and RD channels give rise to HCl molecules at a unique and common center-of-mass scattering angle whereas the vibrational excitation probability of HCl obeys completely different rules for each channel: v ≤3 in channel R and equal probability in all possible vibrational levels in RD. A Thomas-type collision model joined to curve crossing with an intermediate autodetaching HCl^? state accounts well for all of the experimental findings.     

Time-dependent close coupling for vibrational excitation in three dimensions: Application to H+ - H2

Impact parameter calculations for the non-reactive H⁺ + H₂ (n_i = 0) → H⁺ + H₂ (n_f) collision are reported for energies 10 eV ? E_cm ? 200 eV describing the rotational motion of the molecule in the sudden limit. The time-dependent Schrödinger equation for the vibrational motion has been solved by close coupling techniques expanding the vibrational wavefunction into both harmonic and numerically exact H₂ bound states. The convergence in vibrational basis sets, where up to six vibrational levels are considered, becomes worse with decreasing energy and increasing inelasticity. Furthermore, the harmonic wavefunctions are not suitable over a large range of energies to calculate proper cross sections. The various integral and differential cross sections have been compared with the classical results of Giese and Gentry.     

Endothermic reactions of Ni+ with H2, HD and D2

An ion-beam apparatus is employed to study the reaction of Ni⁺ with H₂, HD, and D₂ as a function of kinetic energy. These reactions lead to the endothermic formation of NiH⁺, NiH⁺ and NiD⁺, and NiD⁺, respectively. Interpretation of the threshold for these processes yields the average bond energies, D⁰(Ni⁺H) = 1.86 ± 0.09 eV and D⁰(Ni⁺D) = 1.90 ± 0.14 eV. The total reaction cross sections for all three systems are similar; however, a striking isotope effect is observed for Ni⁺ reacting with HD. The dependence of the cross sections on relative kinetic energy is discussed in terms of simple models for reaction.     

Collinear quantum mechanical calculations for the reaction: He + H2+ → HeH+ + H

An integral equation reaction path technique has been used to calculate, within the collinear approximation, reaction probabilities for the reaction He + H₂⁺ → HeH⁺ + H over the energy range 0.95 <- E <- 1.19 eV. This reaction differs from those that have been studied previously within the collinear approximation in that a severe oscillatory behavior is exhibited in the energy dependence of the reaction probabilities.     

Vibrational structure in the photoelectron spectrum of O2+2Σg− (σg2s)

Discrete vibrational structure has been observed in the photoelectron spectrum of oxygen at an ionization potential of 40.33 eV. Two levels, attributed to the O₂⁺²Σ_g^?(σ_g2s) final state, have been detected with a vibrational spacing of 0.071 eV.