Energy distribution of photoelectrons emitted by solutions: Theoretical analysis

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Abstract
A general equation is derived for energy distribution curves (EDC) of photoelectrons emitted in vacuum by solutions of an emitter dissolved in a liquid. The following features are assumed: quasifree electrons, upon generation by photoionization, are distributed according to their kinetic energy; scattering of quasifree electrons in the liquid entails a loss of kinetic energy; the threshold function for the liquid‐vacuum interfacial barrier is not considered. Some properties of EDC's are deduced, and explict forms of the EDC equation are examined for a Gaussian distribution of quasifree electrons upon generation and for two specific energy loss laws: constant loss in time and loss inversely proportional to the speed of quasifree electrons. Analysis based on superposition of shifted and normalized experimental EDC's is also examined.