Dynamics of Rydberg electron transfer to CH3CN: velocity dependent studies

Dipole-bound CH3CN- ions: temperature dependence of ion production rates and lifetimes

The formation of long-lived (tau less, similar10 mus) dipole-bound CH(3)CN(-) ions through electron transfer in K(14p)CH(3)CN collisions is investigated as a function of target temperature. The rate for their formation is observed to decrease steadily with increasing target temperature. The results are consistent with earlier suggestions that only target molecules in the ground vibrational state and low-lying rotational states can form long-lived dipole-bound anions. For CH(3)CN, the data indicate that creation of long-lived ions requires that the target molecules be in states with rotational quantum numbers j less, similar20. The measurements further demonstrate that the lifetime of the longest-lived (tau greater, similar50 mus) ions is limited by blackbody-radiation-induced photodetachment.

Lifetime of C2Cl4− ions produced by nondissociative electron attachment to C2Cl4

The lifetimes of long-lived C2Cl4(-) ions formed by Rydberg electron transfer in K(np)/C2Cl4 collisions are investigated using a Penning ion trap. Measurements at high n, n > or = 30, show that low-energy electron attachment to C2Cl4 leads to the production of C2Cl4(-) ions with a broad range of lifetimes that extends up to at least 1 ms. This is attributed to capture by molecules in different initial vibrational states. At low n, internal-to-translational energy transfer in postattachment interactions between the product K+ and C2Cl4(-) ions becomes important and leads to a substantial increase in ion lifetimes.