Gas-phase Synthesis and Characterisation of the Methyl-2,2-dicyanoacetate Anion Using Photoelectron Imaging and Dipole-bound State Autodetachment

Anstöter, Cate S.; Verlet, Jan R.R.

Abstract

The methyl-2,2-dicyanoacetate anion is synthesised in an electrospray ionisation source through a gas-phase reaction involving tetracyanoethylene and methanol. Photoelectron imaging is used to determine the isomeric form of the product. The photoelectron spectra and angular distributions are only consistent with a single isomer. Additionally, mode-specific vibrational autodetachment is observed. This can be correlated with the emission from a photoexcited dipole-bound state by considering the IR spectrum of the neutral molecule, adding further confirmation of the isomeric form and providing a binding energy of the dipole-bound state. Our experiments show how conventional photoelectron imaging can be used to determine detailed information about gas-phase reaction products.

Citation

Anstöter, C. S., & Verlet, J. R. (2020). Gas-phase Synthesis and Characterisation of the Methyl-2,2-dicyanoacetate Anion Using Photoelectron Imaging and Dipole-bound State Autodetachment. Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 11(15), 6456-6462. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c02036

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 20, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jul 20, 2020
• Publication Date: Aug 6, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jul 24, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 20, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
• Electronic ISSN: 1948-7185
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 15
• Pages: 6456-6462
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c02036
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1265607