Saroj K. Barik

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION On photoexcitation of quinoline monomers [129 u (unified atomic mass unit)] at 266 nm, with low laser intensities ranging between 104 and 106 Wcm−2, we observed an unexpectedly dominant formation of a heavier-than-parent cation at 142 u, as shown in Fig. 1. The yield of this heavier-than-parent cation at 142 u was nearly 140 times larger than that of the parent cation at 129 u. The cation peaks corresponding to the daughter masses are also seen.

Abstract Intermolecular Coulombic decay (ICD) is a process whereby photoexcited molecules relax by ionizing their neighbouring molecules. ICD is efficient when intermolecular interactions are active and consequently it is observed only in weakly bound systems, such as clusters and hydrogen-bonded systems. Here we report an efficient ICD between unbound molecules excited at ambient-light intensities.