Ionized o-, m-, and p-difluorobenzene dissociate through ring-opened intermediates: a TPEPICO investigation

Threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence (TPEPICO) experiments have shown that o-, m-, and p-difluorobenzene ions dissociate via a common, ring-opened intermediate and not via ionized p-difluorobenzene. Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) modeling of the experimental breakdown curves yields activation energies for the initial isomerization of 4.48 +/- 0.05, 4.55 +/- 0.05, and 4.68 +/- 0.05 eV for o-, m-, and p-difluorobenzene, respectively. These values place each ion at a similar absolute energy and thus similar transition states. A large positive DeltaS(double dagger) for each ion (ca 100 J K(-1) mol(-1)) suggests a ring-opened structure for these transition states.

X, A, B, C, and D states of the C6H5F+ ion studied using multiconfiguration wave functions

Electronic states of the C6H5F+ ion have been studied within C2v symmetry by using the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and multiconfiguration second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2) methods in conjunction with an atomic natural orbital basis. Vertical excitation energies (Tv) and relative energies (Tv') at the ground-state geometry of the C6H5F molecule were calculated for 12 states. For the five lowest-lying states, 1(2)B1, 1(2)A2, 2(2)B1, 1(2)B2, and 1(2)A1, geometries and vibrational frequencies were calculated at the CASSCF level, and adiabatic excitation energies (T0) and potential energy curves (PEC) for F-loss dissociations were calculated at the CASPT2//CASSCF level. On the basis of the CASPT2 T0 calculations, we assign the X, A, B, C, and D states of the ion to 1(2)B1, 1(2)A2, 2(2)B1, 1(2)B2, and 1(2)A1, respectively, which supports the suggested assignment of the B state to (2)(2)B1 by Anand et al. based on their experiments. Our CASPT2 Tv and Tv' calculations and our MRCI T0, Tv, and Tv' calculations all indicate that the 2(2)B1 state of C6H5F+ lies below 1(2)B2. By checking the relative energies of the asymptote products and checking the fragmental geometries and the charge and spin density populations in the asymptote products along the CASPT2//CASSCF PECs, we conclude that the 1(2)B1, 1(2)B2, and 1(2)A1 states of C6H5F+ correlate with C6H5+ (1(1)A1) + F (2P) (the first dissociation limit). The energy increases monotonically along the 1(2)B1 PEC, and there are barriers and minima along the 1(2)B2 and 1(2)A1 PECs. The predicted appearance potential value for C6H5+ (1(1)A1) is very close to the average of the experimental values. Our CASPT2//CASSCF PEC calculations have led to the conclusion that the 1(2)A2 state of C6H5F+ correlates with the third dissociation limit of C6H5+ (1(1)A2) + F (2P), and a preliminary discussion is presented.

Photodissociation dynamics of fluorobenzene

Photodissociation of both fluorobenzene and d(5)-fluorobenzene at 193 nm under collision-free conditions has been studied in separate experiments using multimass ion imaging techniques. HF and DF eliminations were found to be the major dissociation channels. Small amounts of photofragments, C(6)H(4)F and C(6)D(4)F, corresponding to H and D atom eliminations were also observed. Dissociation rate and fragment translational energy distribution suggest that HF (DF) and H (D) atom elimination reactions occur in the ground electronic state. The potential energy surface obtained from ab initio calculations indicates that the four-center reaction in the ground electronic state is the major dissociation mechanism for the HF and DF eliminations. A comparison with photodissociation of benzene has been made.