Desorption due to charge exchange in low-energy collisions of organofluorine ions at solid surfaces

Collisions of organofluorine ions at a metal surface result in efficient emission of adsorbate species as gas-phase ions. The experiments are done at 120° scattering angle in a hybrid (BQ) mass spectrometer; the primary ions, mass-selected by a magnetic sector (B), are allowed to collide with a target at a selected kinetic energy in the tens of eV range and the emitted ions are mass-analyzed using a quadrupole mass filter (Q). It is proposed that the impinging ions undergo neutralization accompanied by desorption of hydrocarbon ions and that the amount of internal energy deposited in the desorbed ions is strongly dependent on the collision energy and affects their degree of fragmentation. Competing processes include reflection and fragmentation of the colliding particle, along with such ion/adsorbate reactions as hydrogen atom abstraction by the fluorinated ion. Small even-electron ions, such as CHF₂]⁺ and C₂H₂F]⁺ are more effective in promoting chemical sputtering of the surface adsorbate as compared to larger ions (e.g. C₃F₅]⁺) and odd-electron ions (e.g. C₂F₄]⁺˙ and C₂HF₂]⁺˙). At low energies some odd-electron fluorinated ions undergo collision without any secondary ions being emitted from the surface. In these cases the parent ions are apparently neutralized, but without sufficient energy transfer to cause hydrocarbon ion desorption. Non-fluorinated organic ions yield fragment ions and ion/surface reaction products under the condition of these experiments, but do not cause significant desorption of hydrocarbon ions.