A Dissociative Electroionization Study of Nitrous Oxide. The NO+ and N2+ Dissociation Channels.

The decay of N2O into NO+ and N2+ dissociation channels has been investigated by electron impact using ions kinetic energy and mass analysis. The appearance energies of NO+ and N2+ are measured as a function of the released translational energy. Both decay channels are mainly reached through predissociation of the N2O+ ionic states. In the NO+ decay channel, only one dissociation limit is involved, i.e. NO+(X1Sigma+,v)+N(4S) and hence the repulsive 4Sigma- state is responsible for all the observed phenomena. In the N2+ decay channel, several dissociation limits are involved. Dissociative ionization involving doubly excited states of N2O+ in both dissociation channels are briefly discussed.