THE BOND STRENGTH OF NI2+

The bond dissociation energy, D0, of Ni2+ is estimated to be 2.32 +/- 0.02 eV from the onset of rapid predissociation in the resonant two-co lor photodissociation (R2CD) spectrum. This predissociation manifests itself in an abrupt change in the lifetimes of some of the upper state s above the adiabatic dissociation limit but without the onset of cont inuum absorption or noticeable broadening of spectral features. The va lue of the bond strength determined by this study is larger than that of the neutral molecule by 0.25 eV, in rough agreement with literature theoretical predictions.