Electron collisions with atoms, ions, molecules, and surfaces: Fundamental science empowering advances in technology

Klaus Bartschat1, Mark J Kushner2

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Drake University, Des Moines, IA 50311; klaus.bartschat@drake.edu.

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Chemical Ionization (CI) Mass Spectrometry

The molecular ion peak of a molecule in the mass spectrum provides vital information for molecular identification. However, conventional electron impact ionization can lead to the rapid dissociation of some molecular ions before they reach the detector. A milder ionization method is required to increase the lifetime of such ionized analyte molecules. Chemical ionization (CI) is a gas-phase protonation reaction useful for mass-analyzing analyte molecules that are easily protonated to yield the...
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Ionization Energy

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Electron Behavior

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Electron Behavior00:54

Electron Behavior

Overview
Electrons are negatively charged subatomic particles that are attracted to an orbit around the positively-charged nucleus of an atom. They reside in locations that are associated with energy levels called shells and are further organized into sub-shells and orbitals within each shell.
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The ionization of a molecule into a molecular ion inside the mass spectrometer causes instability in the molecule's structure due to the loss of an electron. This eventually leads to the fragmentation or breaking of some bonds in the molecule. The fragmentation occurs predominantly at specific bonds to yield relatively stable fragments.
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