Vacuum ultraviolet and photoelectron spectra of fluoroethanes

Abstract

The photoelectron and vacuum ultraviolet absorption spectra of ethylfluoride, 1,1-difluoroethane, 1,1,1-trifluoroethane, and hexafluoroethane have been measured up to 20 eV. The photoelectron spectra show that the highest filled orbital in the ground state is an orbital mainly populated in the C–C bond in the molecules containing two or more fluorine atoms; for ethane itself and for ethylfluoride a mainly C–H and a mainly C–C orbital are almost degenerate. The ultraviolet absorption spectra can be interpreted in terms of Rydberg bands, some of which are superimposed on the ionization continuum.