An infrared multiphoton dissociation study of radiative and collisional relaxation of vibrationally excited CF3O− ions

Abstract
Infrared multiphoton dissociation is used in conjunction with pulsed ion cyclotron resonance spectroscopy to measure vibrational relaxation rates for CF3O− ions produced with excess vibrational energy via dissociative electron capture. Upper limits to the rate constants for both radiative and collisional vibrational relaxation are obtained. Collisional relaxation of the ions is found to be rather slow compared to the rates of many ion–molecule reactions.