High-resolution zero-kinetic-energy photoelectron spectroscopy of nitric oxide

Ionization of NO by superhalogens: DFT and QTAIM approaches

 Nitric oxide (NO) is a precursor to NO2, toxic gas, and a major air pollutant. Its ionization has been difficult due to its high ionization energy. We propose here the ionization of NO to NO+ using superhalogens. We study the interaction of NO with superhalogens (X = LiF2, BeF3 and, BF4) using DFT and QTAIM approaches, which lead to the formation of NO-X complexes. These complexes and their isomers are ionic with positively charged NO, which can be stabilized by two F–N bonds and F–O bonds, respectively. This reveals that NO can be ionized by electron transfer to superhalogens. The size of superhalogens has been noticed to play a crucial in the ionization of NO.

Total and partial electron impact ionization cross sections of fusion-relevant diatomic molecules

We report calculations of total (and absolute) electron-impact ionization cross sections (EICSs) for the fusion-relevant diatomic molecular species BeH, BeN, BeO, WH, WBe, WN, WO, O₂, and N₂ by means of the Deutsch-Märk and the binary-encounter-Bethe methods in the energy range from threshold to 10 keV. In addition, we discuss an empirical scheme to estimate partial cross sections from the total ones based on reaction energetics and empirical threshold laws and explore its accuracy by assessing available experimental data on total and partial EICSs. Finally, we also report parameters obtained by fitting the calculated cross sections to an expression commonly used in fusion edge plasma modeling.

Nitrogen matters: the difference between PANH and PAH formation

Because of the large stability of the nitrile group, the N-substituted aromatic molecule quinoline does not form in the phenyl + acrylonitrile reaction, in contrast to naphthalene formation in the isoelectronic phenyl + vinylacetylene reaction.

Implementation of Various Modalities of the Optical-Optical Double Resonance Techniques To Simplify the Interpretation of the Spectra of Highly Excited States of Nitric Oxide

We combined various modalities of the optical-optical double resonance (OODR) photoionization technique to simplify the interpretation of crowded molecular spectra. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our method, we applied it to the 64000 to 65200 cm(-1) spectral region of the molecule NO, where exist the following electronic states: B (2)Π (v = 21), D (2)Σ(+) (v = 5), F (2)Δ (v = 1), L (2)Π (v = 3), and K (2)Π (v = 0). This spectral region is complicated because (1) several electronic states are close in energy, (2) some of the rotational energy patterns are irregular, and (3) the relative intensity of the different bands varies markedly. We implemented four modalities of the OODR experimental technique that involved the combined use of two or three lasers. The individual rotational levels up to N' = 20 of the A(2)Σ(+) (v = 0) state were pumped as intermediate states by one-photon excitation from appropriate rotational levels in the X(2)Π (v = 0) ground state. Some of the schemes implemented provided information about line positions and relative band intensities, whereas the ion-dip detection scheme provided insight into the fate of the population in the different states. The term values that we derived are in good agreement with the literature ones. We rotationally resolved the spectra for the K (2)Π (v = 0) and B (2)Π (v = 21) states up to N = 20, and for the D (2)Σ(+) (v = 5) and L (2)Π (v = 3) states up to N = 8 and 7, respectively. Strangely, only in the rotational levels between N = 6 and N = 20 were we able to observe the F (2)Δ state, which is mostly mixed with the B' (2)Δ (v = 4) state and usually notated as F (2)Δ (v = 1) → B' (2)Δ (v = 4). We obtained the rotational constants for the B (2)Π1/2 (v = 21), L (2)Π3/2 (v = 3), and K (2)Π1/2 (v = 0) states, which had not been previously reported.