Dissociative detachment of the fluoroformate anion

Abstract

Dissociative photodetachment of the FCO₂⁻ fluoroformate complex by intense laser pulses is studied using 3D coincidence fragment imaging. The main channels are found to be CO₂ + F and FCO + O. Cleavage of the C–F bond is attributed to dissociation on the ²A₁ excited state of the neutral FCO₂ radical with significant internal excitation of the molecular fragment, while reductive dissociation of the CO₂ moiety is assigned to higher lying states. The measured dissociative ionization products of double-photodetachment are discussed and attributed to intense-laser ionization of dissociative photodetachment products.