The electronic catalyst: dissociation of chlorinated hydrocarbons by metal-insulator-metal electron emitters

We have demonstrated that electrons emitted from a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) device can be used to mediate a simple chemical reaction, namely the decomposition of chlorinated hydrocarbons via dissociative attachment (DA). The peak in the kinetic energy of the emitted electrons shifts upwards with increasing device voltage, which should allow tuneable selection of particular molecular electron attachment resonances. In the case of CCl4 the DA resonance is peaked at ≈ 0 eV. The yield of Cl− ions was found to be proportional to the total elextron yield, which increased exponentially with increasing device voltage above a threshold. The electrical properties of the MIM devices were found to be affected by the presence of gas-phase CCl4, suggesting that some CCl4 is incorporated into the device structure. We also found detectable Cl− emission from CCl4 incorporated into the MIM device.