Electronic States of H2O+ Produced by Electron Bombardment of H2O

Abstract

The abundance of the electronic states of H2O+ produced by electron bombardment of H2O vapor in the energy range 12–70 eV have been determined by studying the attenuation of the H2O+ ion beam in nitrous oxide. The ground state (2B1), the first excited state (2A1), and probably the second excited state (2B2) were found to be present, and their abundance was found to be a function of the electron bombarding energy and the water vapor pressure in the ion source.