Nonadiabatic behavior of a transition metal system: Exothermic reactions of Fe+(6D,4F) and propane

Richard H. Schultz, P. B. Armentrout

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Guided ion beam mass spectrometry is used to investigate the exothermic reactions of Fe+ with propane, production of FeC2H4+ and FeC3H6+. By utilizing two well-characterized ion sources, we determine the reactivities of both the Fe+(6D) ground state and the Fe+(4F) first excited state. Above a kinetic energy of 0.4 eV, the latter is more reactive, consistent with previous results for the state-specific reactions of Fe+ + H2. Surprisingly, Fe+(6D) is the more reactive state below 0.4 eV. Since molecular orbital arguments suggest that the surfaces evolving from these states cross, the experimental observations are explained by adiabatic behavior at low energy and nonadiabatic (diabatic) behavior at high energies. Simple theoretical treatments such as Landau-Zener theory cannot account for the observed behavior.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4433-4435
Number of pages3
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry
Volume91
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - 1987
Externally publishedYes

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