Triply differential (e,2e) studies of phenol.

Area of Science:

• Atomic and Molecular Physics
• Quantum Chemistry
• Electron-Impact Ionization

Background:

• Understanding electron-impact ionization is crucial for various fields.
• Phenol is a fundamental aromatic molecule with significant chemical relevance.
• Previous studies have explored electron-impact ionization of molecules, but detailed investigations on phenol are ongoing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally measure triple differential cross sections (TDCS) for electron-impact ionization of phenol.
• To investigate the influence of different scattering angles on the ionization dynamics.
• To compare experimental data with theoretical predictions from the molecular 3-body distorted wave model.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the (e,2e) spectroscopy technique.
• Employed coplanar asymmetrical kinematics.
• Performed measurements for an incident electron energy of 250 eV and outgoing electron energies of 20 eV.
• Scattered incident electrons through angles of -5°, -10°, and -15°.

Main Results:

• Obtained experimental angular distributions for the slow outgoing electrons.
• Observed a mixed level of agreement between experimental TDCS and theoretical calculations in the binary peak region, dependent on kinematics.
• Found that the experimental intensity of recoil features was significantly underestimated by the theoretical model across all conditions.

Conclusions:

• The molecular 3-body distorted wave model provides a reasonable description of electron-impact ionization of phenol in certain kinematic regimes.
• Discrepancies in the binary and recoil peak regions highlight the need for refined theoretical approaches.
• Further theoretical and experimental work is needed to fully elucidate the ionization dynamics of phenol.