| Popis: |
The infrared spectrum of a molecular ion provides a unique signature for that species, gives information on its structure, and is amenable to remote sensing. It also serves as a comparison standard for refining ab initio calculations. Experiments in this laboratory trap molecular ions in dilute solid solution in neon at 4.2 K in sufficient concentration for observation of their infrared spectra between 450 and 4000 cm!1. Discharge-excited neon atoms produce cations by photoionization and/or Penning ionization of the parent molecule. The resulting electrons are captured by other molecules, yielding anions which provide for overall charge neutrality of the deposit. Recent observations of ions produced from C2H4 and BF3 will be discussed. Because of their relatively large possibility of having low-lying excited electronic states, small, symmetric molecular cations are especially vulnerable to breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. Some phenomena which can result from this breakdown will be discusse... |
