Transition metal chemistry in crossed molecular beams

摘要

Abstract: Bimolecular state-selective chemistry has been performed using the technique of crossed molecular beams. Systems of current study involve transition metal atoms (M) interacting with small hydrocarbons, in particular: Mo $PLU CH$-4$/, Zr $PLU C$-2$/H$-4$/, and V $PLU C$-2$/H$-4$/. Atomic metal reactants are prepared state-specifically by laser excitation followed by radiative decay. Nascent products were allowed to drift to a triply differentially pumped detector where they were ionized by either conventional electron impact or VUV photoionization and counted to obtain product angular and velocity distributions. C-H bond activation was observed for the former two systems, but not for the V systems. This behavior is rationalized in terms of the electronic configurations of the atomic reactants. !43