A study to control chemical reactions using Si:2p core ionization: site-specific fragmentation.

In an aim to create a "sharp" molecular knife, we have studied site-specific fragmentation caused by Si:2p core photoionization of bridged trihalosilyltrimethylsilyl molecules in the vapor phase. Highly site-specific bond dissociation has been found to occur around the core-ionized Si site in some of the molecules studied. The site specificity in fragmentation and the 2p binding energy difference between the two Si sites depend in similar ways on the intersite bridge and the electronegativities of the included halogen atoms. The present experimental and computational results show that for efficient "cutting" the following conditions for the two atomic sites to be separated by the knife should be satisfied. First, the sites should be located far from each other and connected by a chain of saturated bonds so that intersite electron migration can be reduced. Second, the chemical environments of the atomic sites should be as different as possible.

Site-specific fragmentation caused by core-level photoionization in F(3)SiCH(2)CH(2)Si(CH(3))(3) vapor: comparison between Si:1s and 2p photoionizations by means of photoelectron-photoion-photoion triple-coincidence spectroscopy.

Site-specific fragmentation caused by Si:1s and 2p core-level photoionizations in F(3)SiCH(2)CH(2)Si(CH(3))(3) vapor was studied by energy-selected-photoelectron photoion-photoion triple-coincidence spectroscopy. The difference between the chemical shifts of the two Si sites is larger for the 1s ionization than for the 2p (2s) ionization. The fragmentation caused by the Si:1s ionization is more violent than that caused by the Si:2p ionization. The ions and ion pairs showing high site specificity for the Si:1s ionization belong to small fragments compared to those in the Si:2p ionization. Criteria for high site-specificity in fragmentation are discussed in conjunction with the present results.

Recoil excitation of vibrational structure in the carbon 1s photoelectron spectrum of CF4.

The carbon 1s photoelectron spectrum of CF4 measured at photon energies from 330 to 1500 eV shows significant contributions from nonsymmetric vibrational modes. These increase linearly as the photon energy increases. The excitation of these modes, which is not predicted in the usual Franck-Condon point of view, arises from the recoil momentum imparted to the carbon atom in the ionization process. A theory is presented for quantitative prediction of the recoil effect; the predictions of this theory are in agreement to the measurements. The experiments also yield the vibrational frequencies of the symmetric and asymmetric stretching modes in core-ionized CF4, the change in CF bond length upon ionization, -0.61 pm, and the Lorentzian linewidth of the carbon 1s hole, 67 meV.

Boron 1s photoelectron spectrum of 11BF3: vibrational structure and linewidth.

The boron 1s photoelectron spectrum of (11)BF(3) has been measured at a photon energy of 400 eV and a resolution of about 55 meV. The pronounced vibrational structure seen in the spectrum has been analyzed to give the harmonic and anharmonic vibrational frequencies of the symmetric stretching mode, 128.1 and 0.15 meV, as well as the change in equilibrium BF bond length upon ionization, -5.83 pm. A similar change in bond length has been observed for PF(3) and SiF(4), but a much smaller change for CF(4). Theoretical calculations for BF(3) that include the effects of electron correlation give results that are in reasonable accord with the experimental values. The Lorentzian (lifetime) width of the boron 1s core hole in BF(3) is found to be 72 meV, comparable to the value of 77 meV that has been reported for CF(4).

Isotope-induced partial localization of core electrons in the homonuclear molecule N2.

Because of inversion symmetry and particle exchange, all constituents of homonuclear diatomic molecules are in a quantum mechanically non-local coherent state; this includes the nuclei and deep-lying core electrons. Hence, the molecular photoemission can be regarded as a natural double-slit experiment: coherent electron emission originates from two identical sites, and should give rise to characteristic interference patterns. However, the quantum coherence is obscured if the two possible symmetry states of the electronic wavefunction ('gerade' and 'ungerade') are degenerate; the sum of the two exactly resembles the distinguishable, incoherent emission from two localized core sites. Here we observe the coherence of core electrons in N(2) through a direct measurement of the interference exhibited in their emission. We also explore the gradual transition to a symmetry-broken system of localized electrons by comparing different isotope-substituted species--a phenomenon analogous to the acquisition of partial 'which-way' information in macroscopic double-slit experiments.

Energy and angular distributions of electrons emitted by direct double auger decay.

We have observed the direct L(2,3)MMM double Auger transition after photoionization of the 2p shell of argon by angle-resolved electron-electron coincidence spectroscopy. The process is responsible for about 20% of the observed Auger electron intensity. In contrast to the normal Auger lines, the spectra in double Auger decay show a continuous intensity distribution. The energy and angular distributions of the emitted electrons allow one to obtain information on the electron correlations giving rise to the double Auger process as well as the symmetry of the associated two-electron continuum state.