The binding energy and vibronic structure of NbXe+

The resonant photodissociation spectrum of NbXe+ from 13500 to 16400 cm−1 has been analyzed for the first time. Study of a relatively intense electronic transition, dubbed the B-X system, has yielded an electronic origin, and the excited state vibrational frequency and anharmonicity: T00 = 13601, ω′e = 85.2, and ωex′e = 0.63 cm−1. From the convergence of the upper-state vibrational structure and analogy to isovalent molecules, it is found that NbXe+ dissociates at 16651 ± 10 cm−1 into Nb+ [4d35s1 (5P2)] + Xe(1S0), fragments. This places the diabatic dissociation energies (D0) of the excited (5Π1) and ground (5Σ0+) electronic states at 3051 ± 10 cm−1 and 5815 ± 10 cm−1, respectively.