Abstract

Electron-ion coincidence spectroscopy has been used to study the fragmentation behaviour of small molecules in two distinct cases: to resolve the state specific fragmentation patterns of HgBr₂ and HgCl₂ subsequent to UV ionization, and to distinguish the dissociation behaviour of various chlorinated methanes (CH₃Cl, CH₂Cl₂, CHCl₃ and CCl₄) subsequent to X-ray irradiation. The mercury-compound work has revealed details on the electronic structure and dissociation dynamics of the valence states which were previously unknown. The study on the chlorinated methanes has found new details on the exact pathways of the appearance of a specific fragment and also investigates the speed of the dissociation in the four different chlorinated methane molecules. The results from the electron-ion coincidence spectroscopic experiments are presented and analysed together with theoretical and computational support.