Electron attachment to molecules in a cluster environment

Authors

Ilya I. Fabrikant, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
S. Caprasecca, The Open UniversityFollow
Gordon A. Gallup, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
J. D. Gorfinkiel, The Open UniversityFollow

Date of this Version

2012

Citation

THE JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS 136, 184301 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4706604

Comments

Copyright 2012 American Institute of Physics. Used by permission.

Abstract

Low-energy dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to the CF₂Cl₂ and CF₃Cl molecules in a water cluster environment is investigated theoretically. Calculations are performed for the water trimer and water hexamer. It is shown that the DEA cross section is strongly enhanced when the attaching molecule is embedded in a water cluster, and that this cross section grows as the number of water molecules in the cluster increases. This growth is explained by a trapping effect that is due to multiple scattering by water molecules while the electron is trapped in the cluster environment. The trapping increases the resonance lifetime and the negative ion survival probability. This confirms qualitatively existing experiments on electron attachment to the CF₂Cl₂ molecule placed on the surface of H₂O ice. The DEA cross sections are shown to be very sensitive to the position of the attaching molecule within the cluster and the orientation of the electron beam relative to the cluster.