A new instrument for kinetics and branching ratio studies of gas phase collisional processes at very low temperatures.
THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2021;
92:014102. [PMID:
33514236 DOI:
10.1063/5.0029991]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
A new instrument dedicated to the kinetic study of low-temperature gas phase neutral-neutral reactions, including clustering processes, is presented. It combines a supersonic flow reactor with vacuum ultra-violet synchrotron photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A photoion-photoelectron coincidence detection scheme has been adopted to optimize the particle counting efficiency. The characteristics of the instrument are detailed along with its capabilities illustrated through a few results obtained at low temperatures (<100 K) including a photoionization spectrum of n-butane, the detection of formic acid dimer formation, and the observation of diacetylene molecules formed by the reaction between the C2H radical and C2H2.
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