ISSN:
1089-7690
Source:
AIP Digital Archive
Topics:
Physics
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
Steric effect in the Penning ionization reaction of Ar*(3P2,0)+CHCl3→Ar+CHCl2++Cl+e− was directly observed at an average collision energy of 0.13 eV using the oriented CHCl3 molecular beam. The product CHCl2+ ions are measured for the H-end, the CCl3-end, and sideways orientations. The obtained steric opacity function reveals that the CCl3-end orientation is more favorable than the H-end orientation, and the sideways approach is found to be more favorable than the collinear approaches from both ends of the molecule. Furthermore, we confirm the good correlation between Penning ionization anisotropy and the electron density distribution of the 2a2 HOMO orbital of the CHCl3 molecule, whose electron cloud is mostly localized around the sideways. These results substantiate the electron exchange mechanism which is commonly accepted for the Penning ionization reaction, where the overlap of projectile atomic and target molecular orbital plays a key role in Penning ionization efficiency. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1311614
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