Generation and Study of Inorganic Cations in Rare Gas Matrices by Electron Spin Resonance

A comprehensive treatment (through 1989) of electron spin resonance (ESR) results for inorganic cation radicals isolated in rare gas matrices will be presented in this chapter. The most recent method used to generate cations for rare gas trapping experiments will be described, namely, direct ion trapping of plasma generated by pulsed laser bombardment. 1,2] This highly versatile approach can be used alone to produce matrix spectra of isolated ions or in combination with other ionization methods during the deposition process. Examples of small inorganic cations studied by ESR in other solid hosts at low temperatures will be listed but no comprehensive treatment will be attempted in the space available for this much broader field of research which has been previously reviewed. 3-“7] Several reviews of rare gas matrix ESR studies for charged and neutral radicals should be consulted for background information. 8-“15] Different chapters of this monograph will discuss anion and organic cation radicals studied in the condensed phase by ESR and other spectroscopic methods. A brief section listing all gas phase cations whose magnetic hyperfine interactions have been measured will be presented for comparison with the rare gas matrix values