Unimolecular decay pathways of state-selected CO2+ in the internal energy range of 5.2–6.2 eV: An experimental and theoretical study

Abstract

The vacuum ultraviolet pulsed field ionization (PFI)-photoelectron (PFI-PE) spectrum of CO2 has been measured in the energy region of 19.0–20.0 eV. The PFI-PE vibrational bands resolved for CO2+(C 2Σg+) are overwhelmingly dominated by the origin band along with weak vibrational bands corresponding to excitations of the ν1+ (symmetric stretching), ν2+ (bending), and ν3+ (antisymmetric stretching) modes. The simulation of the rotational contour resolved in the origin PFI-PE band yields a value of 19.3911±0.0005 eV for the ionization energy of CO2 to form CO2+(C 2Σg+). A PFI-PE peak is found to coincide with each of the 0 K dissociation thresholds for the formation of O+(4S)+CO(X 1Σ+) and CO+(X 2Σ+)+O(3P). This observation is tentatively interpreted to result from the lifetime switching effect, arising from the prompt dissociation of excited CO2 in high-n (n⩾100) Rydberg states prior to PFI. We have also examined the decay pathways for state-selected CO2+ in the internal energy range of 5.2–6.2 eV using the PFI-PE-photoion coincidence scheme. The coincidence TOF data show unambiguously the formation of O+(4S)+CO(X 1Σ+;ν″=0,1) and CO+(X 2Σ+;ν+=0,1)+O(3P). Analysis of the kinetic energy releases of fragment ions suggests that the dissociation of excited CO2+ involved is nonstatistical and proceeds with an impulsive mechanism. Potential energy functions (PEFs) for the CO2+(C 2Σg+) state and the lowest quartet states of CO2+, together with their spin–orbit interactions, have been calculated using the complete active space self-consistent field and internal contracted multireference configuration interaction methods. Based on these PEFs, vibrational levels for CO2+(C 2Σg+) have been also calculated using a variational approach. With the aid of these theoretical calculations, vibrational bands resolved in the PFI-PE spectrum for CO2+(C 2Σg+) have been satisfactorily assigned, yielding a ν3+ value of 2997 cm−1. The theoretical calculation also provides a rationalization that the predissociation for CO2+(C 2Σg+) to form O+(4S)+CO(X 1Σ+) and CO+(X 2Σ+)+O(3P) most likely proceeds via the repulsive a 4Σg− and b 4Πu (or B14 in a bent geometry) states.