Double-Oven Experiments with Lithium Halide Vapors

Abstract

A double-oven apparatus described here has been operated within a mass spectrometer. By independently controlling the pressure and temperature of the vapor in the oven, the fragmentation patterns and relative ionization cross sections of the components of a complex vapor phase may be distinguished. Superheating the vapor and thereby producing species of lower molecular weight simplifies the mass spectrum and minimizes confusion due to fragmentation effects. This technique has been applied to the lithium halide vapors. Fragmentation patterns, ionization cross sections of dimers relative to those of the monomers, and energies of dimerization are reported.