Electron-Impact Spectroscopy: A Versatile Tool for Chemistry

Selected research projects representative for the applications of the Electron-Impact (EI) techniques in Fribourg are briefly reviewed. Progress made in the development of instrumentation is illustrated with spectra of oxygen and buta-1,3-diene. The following topics are then briefly discussed: i) Comparison of triplet- and singlet-excitation energies of a representative aliphatic hydrocarbon (pentane) with the highly strained [1.1.1]propellane and with ethene. ii) Electron affinities and virtual orbitals of saturated hydrocarbons with increasing degree of strain: propane, cyclopropane, and [1.1.1]propellane. iii) Measurement of absolute cross sections for electronic excitation and comparison with theory. iv) Dissociative attachment experiments on dihalosubstitued toluenes providing insight into factors determining the rate of intramolecular charge-transfer in the gas phase