THE ELECTRONIC CATALYST - DISSOCIATION OF CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS BYMETAL-INSULATOR-METAL ELECTRON EMITTERS

We have demonstrated that electrons emitted from a metal-insulator-met al (MIM) device can be used to mediate a simple chemical reaction, nam ely the decomposition of chlorinated hydrocarbons via dissociative att achment (DA). The peak in the kinetic energy of the emitted electrons shifts upwards with increasing device voltage, which should allow tune able selection of particular molecular electron attachment resonances. In the case of CCl4 the DA resonance is peaked at approximate to 0 eV . The yield of Cl- ions was found to be proportional to the total elec tron yield, which increased exponentially with increasing device volta ge above a threshold. The electrical properties of the MIM devices wer e found to be affected by the presence of gas-phase CCl4, suggesting t hat some CCl4 is incorporated into the device structure. We also found detectable Cl- emission from CCl4 incorporated into the MIM device.