Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol.117, No.9, 4371-4375, 2002
Metastable dissociation of the zirconium Met-Car, Zr8C12, and connections to the production of the delayed atomic ion
An investigation of the metastable unimolecular dissociation channels and decay fractions of ZrxCy+ is made using a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer coupled with a laser vaporization source. Useful information pertaining to the decay channels is elucidated. Evidence pertaining to the source of the delayed atomic ion (a phenomenon only observed in the Met-Car system) as a fragmentation event in the acceleration region is also uncovered.