Low energy elastic scattering of electrons from hexafluoropropene (C3F6)

Abstract

We present cross sections from a joint experimental and theoretical study on elastic electron scattering from hexafluoropropene (C3F6) in the gas phase. The experimental results, using low energy electron spectroscopy, were obtained at incident electron energies of 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15 and 20 eV, for scattering angles ranging from 10° to 130°. The theoretical method used in the computation of the integral, momentum transfer and differential cross sections (DCSs) is the Schwinger multichannel method with pseudopotentials. The cross sections were computed in the static-exchange and static-exchange plus polarization approximations for energies up to 20 eV. In general, the present experimental and calculated DCSs agree well among each other, except at 3 eV. Our results also agree well with previous measurements available at 2, 5 and 8 eV. The calculated integral and momentum transfer cross sections display a series of resonances, where the low-lying resonance has a π* character and is located at around 1 eV. This resonance was also observed in previous total cross section measurements at around 1.2 eV (Makochekanwa et al 2005 Eur. Phys. J. D 35 249).