Unimolecular reaction paths of electronically excited species. IV. The C̃ 2Σ+g state of CO+2

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Abstract
The geometrical structure of the low‐lying states of CO+2 has been calculated ab initio. The C̃ 2Σ+g/2A1 state is found to be slightly bent in its equilibrium geometry. A new assignment of the vibrational structure of the corresponding band in the photoelectron spectrum is suggested. State C̃ is predissociated by two competitive channels. One of them leads to O++CO, the other to CO++O. The mechanism of these predissociations involves a slow, rate‐determining, intersystem crossing to a bent ã 4B1 state. The population of state ã has a choice between dissociating to O++CO fragments and undergoing a further, much faster, intersystem crossing to the ground state X̃ which dissociates to CO++O. Since radiationless transitions between X̃ and ã are relatively rapid, the state which is lower in energy (i.e., X̃) has a much larger population than the other (i.e., ã). Hence, the CO++O channel prevails as soon as it is energetically accessible. The rate‐determining step of both processes is the intersystem crossing between states C̃ and ã. Its rate constant is estimated by a statistical method due to Zahr, Preston, and Miller, recasted in a simpler form. A value of about 4×107 s−1 is obtained.