Lifetime of C 2 Cl 4- ions produced by nondissociative electron attachment to C 2Cl 4

Abstract

The lifetimes of long-lived C2 Cl4- ions formed by Rydberg electron transfer in K (np) C2 Cl4 collisions are investigated using a Penning ion trap. Measurements at high n, n≥30, show that low-energy electron attachment to C2 Cl4 leads to the production of C2 Cl4- ions with a broad range of lifetimes that extends up to at least 1 ms. This is attributed to capture by molecules in different initial vibrational states. At low n, internal-to-translational energy transfer in postattachment interactions between the product K+ and C2 Cl4- ions becomes important and leads to a substantial increase in ion lifetimes. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.