Triphenylboroxine stability under low-energy-electron interactions.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Physical Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry

Background:

• Triphenylboroxine (TPB) possesses unique chemical properties valuable for organic synthesis and molecular architecture.
• Boroxine cages offer dynamic interconversion, optimizing pharmacological properties for drug delivery, including guest recognition and porosity.
• Novel 2D boroxine frameworks exhibit electronic and morphological characteristics suitable for electronic device design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the electron-driven fragmentation pathways of Triphenylboroxine (TPB) through gas-phase crossed-beam experiments.
• To determine the stability and energy selectivity of TPB upon electron interaction.
• To provide insights into the potential applications of TPB in molecular architectures and electronic devices.

Main Methods:

• Gas-phase crossed-beam experiment to study electron interactions with TPB.
• Mass spectrometry to analyze fragmentation patterns and cation abundance.
• Determination of appearance energies for fragment cations and experimental first ionization potential.
• Quantum chemical calculations using bound state techniques and electron ionization models.

Main Results:

• The abundance of the TPB molecular parent cation at 70 eV indicates significant stability.
• The experimental first ionization potential of TPB was determined to be 9.12 ± 0.10 eV.
• TPB forms only the parent cation in the energy range between its first ionization potential and other thresholds.
• Four low-abundant anions were observed in the electron energy range of 0-15 eV.

Conclusions:

• TPB demonstrates notable energy selectivity and stability when interacting with electrons.
• The findings support the use of TPB in developing advanced molecular architectures for diverse applications.
• The study provides a fundamental understanding of TPB's behavior under electron impact, crucial for its application in materials science and electronics.