Assignment of the first photoelectron band of the CH3CHCl radical using ab initio quantum mechanical calculations

Abstract

HeI photoelectron spectra have been recorded for the reaction of atomic fluorine with ethyl chloride at different reaction times. A structured band associated with a short-lived primary reaction product has been recorded with adiabatic and vertical ionization energies of (7.84±0.02) and (8.18±0.02) eV respectively. An average vibrational separation of (680±30) cm−1was observed in this band. Comparison between the experimental vertical and adiabatic ionization energies and ionization energies computed for CH3CHCl (X2A) and CH2CH2Cl (X2A) at different levels of theory led to the assignment of the observed first photoelectron band to the ionization of CH3CHCl (X2A). The observed vibrational structure was assigned to excitation of the C–Cl stretching mode in CH3CHCl+(X1A).