Electron-induced reactions in condensed films of acetonitrile and ethane

Abstract

Reactions in pure and mixed films of C₂H₆ and CD₃CN deposited on a Au surface at 35 K have been induced by low-energy electrons and investigated by Thermal Desorption Spectrometry (TDS). The incident electron energy (E₀) was varied between 5 and 16 eV and a number of different products were identified. Beside the main products, CD₄, CD₃H, and C₂D₆, molecules resulting from atom scrambling during radical chain reactions (C₂H₅D) and recombination products (CD₃CD₂CN and C₂H₅CD₃) were identified while others were characteristically absent. The quantity of the different products varied with E₀. The observed electron-driven processes are in accord with previous findings from gas phase experiments on dissociative electron attachment and electron impact ionization. On this basis, reaction mechanisms leading to the formation of the observed products are suggested for different ranges of E₀.