Dissociative Electron Attachment Processes in SO2 and NO2

A trapped electron apparatus has been used to identify the processes involved in negative ion formation for the triatomic oxides SO2 and NO2. Two O− peaks are observed in SO2 with onset values at 4.2 ± 0.15 and 6.3 ± 0.2 eV, and peak values at 5.0 ± 0.15 and 7.4 ± 0.15 eV, respectively. From kinetic energy analysis of the O− ions, both peaks are found to have the same dissociation limit involving SO in its ground state. For NO2, two dissociative electron attachment peaks are observed with onset values at 1.6 ± 0.2 and 7.3 ± 0.3 eV, and peak values at 3.0 ± 0.2 and 8.1 ± 0.2 eV, respectively. The first broad peak is explained by overlapping contributions from two processes having the same dissociation limit involving ground state NO; they differ only in the amount of kinetic energy possessed by the fragments. The second peak appears to involve electronic excitation of the neutral fragment NO* with zero kinetic energy at onset.