Valence orbital photoelectron spectroscopic studies of free molecules with zirconium Mζ soft X-ray excitation

Abstract

Zirconium M_ζ X-rays (151.4 eV) have been used to produce valence shell photoelectron spectra of the noble gases Ne and Ar and the molecules CH₄, N₂ and H₂O. This radiation, which appears to be free of nearby satellites, gives good count rates and clean spectra. Since the orbitals with a large proportion of p character have a higher cross-section for photoemission with Zr M_ζ than with Mg K_α, the spectra show prominent peaks for molecular orbitals with dominant p components whereas Mg K_α spectra emphasize those orbitals which have dominant s character.