Dissociation of High-Lying Electronic States of NO2+ in the 15.5-20 eV Region.

Abstract

We present a dissociative photoionization study of NO2 in the 15.5-20 eV energy range using synchrotron radiation-based double imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence (i2PEPICO) spectroscopy. The high-lying electronic states of the NO2+ cation, c 3B1, C 1B1, d 3A1, e 3B2, and D 1B2, are prepared in well-resolved vibronic states in order to study their individual dissociation mechanisms. Up to eight dissociation limits of NO2+ are reached, and mass-selected threshold photoelectron spectra (TPES) show that the c 3B1, C 1B1, and d 3A1 states predominantly dissociate into the NO+ + O products, while the e 3B2 and D 1B2 states can undergo fragmentation into both the NO+ + O and the O+ + NO channels, as well as the O2+ + N channel with a small yield. Overall, these product yields are found to be quite sensitive to autoionization processes. Mass-selected high-resolution electron and ion kinetic energy correlation diagrams reveal dissociative mechanisms that possess strong state-specific character.