Cl-Loss dynamics in the dissociative photoionization of CF3Cl with threshold photoelectron–photoion coincidence imaging

The dissociative photoionization of CF3Cl was investigated in the photon energy range of 12.30–18.50 eV. The low-lying electronic states of CF3Cl+ cations were prepared by the method of threshold photoelectron–photoion coincidence (TPEPICO). The threshold photoelectron spectrum and the coincident time-of-flight mass spectra at the specific photon energies were recorded. Only a CF3+ fragment was observed at lower energy, while a CF2Cl+ fragment appeared for C2E and D2E states. As Cl-loss from the ground ionic state is statistical, the total kinetic energy release distribution (KERD) is represented as a Boltzmann profile, and a 0 K appearance energy of AP0 =12.79 ± 0.02 eV is derived from the statistical modelling of the breakdown diagram from 12.60 to 12.85 eV without taking into account the kinetic shift. For the A2A1 and B2A2 states of CF3Cl+ cations, the total KERDs are bimodal, where a parallel faster dissociation appears together with the statistical distribution. At higher energies like the C2E and D2E ionic states, a bimodal distribution similar to that of the A2A1 and B2A2 states is also observed for the KERD. With the aid of the calculated Cl-loss potential energy curves, the dissociative mechanisms of internal energy-selected CF3Cl+ cations are proposed.