Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Production of Membrane-Filtered Phase-Shift Decafluorobutane Nanodroplets from Preformed Microbubbles
Published on: March 23, 2021
Ionization and fragmentation of isomeric van der Waals complexes embedded in helium nanodroplets
William K Lewis1, C Michael Lindsay, Roger E Miller
1Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA. lewiswik@notes.udayton.edu
Abstract:
The ionization and charge transfer processes, which occur when a doped helium droplet undergoes electron impact, are studied for droplets doped with van der Waals complexes with various structures and electrostatic moments. The mass spectra of the two isomers of hydrogen cyanide complexed with either cyanoacetylene or acetylene in helium droplets were obtained using optically selected mass spectrometry, and show that the structure of the complex has a large effect on the fragmentation pattern. The resulting fragmentation pattern is consistent with an ionization process in which charge steering strongly influences the site of initial ionization. The observed dissociation products may also be subject to caging by the helium matrix.
Related Concept Videos
Mass Spectrometry: Molecular Fragmentation Overview
One type of fragmentation pattern is the cleavage of a single bond in the molecular ion. The cleavage leads to a radical and a cation. The cleavage can occur at...
Van der Waals Interactions
Intermolecular Forces
Valence Bond Theory
The Van der Waals Equation
Real Gases: Effects of Intermolecular Forces and Molecular Volume Deriving Van der Waals Equation

