Fragment ion yields from CFCl3 photoexcited in regions of the Cl2p, the C1s, and the F1s electron transitions Original Research Article

Fragment ions from CFCl3 have been measured in the soft X-ray region using monochromatized synchrotron radiation and a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The atomic chlorine ion shows the highest yield ratio, about half of the total ion yield in all the photon energies studied. At the Cl2p photoionization, C–Cl bonds are broken frequently, yielding an intensity increase in CFCl+ and CF+, but the process where only the C–F bond is cleaved does not take place, inducing no production of CCl3+. The reverse phenomenon happens at the F1s photoionization; the yields of CCl3+ and CCl+ increase but CFCl2+, CFCl+ and CF+ are not produced. These findings are ascribed to variation in Auger transitions creating valence holes in different molecular orbitals. A comparison with the results on CF2Cl2 and CF3Cl is discussed.