PENNING IONIZATION OF COBALTOCENE BY COLLISION WITH HE-ASTERISK(2(3)S) METASTABLE ATOMS

Penning ionization of cobaltocene (C5H5)(2)Co upon collision with He( 2(3)S) metastable atoms was studied by two-dimensional Penning ionizat ion electron spectroscopy (2D-PIES). In the studied collision energy r ange (80-180 meV), the interaction potentials around cyclopentadienyl rings were found to be strongly attractive in the normal direction of the ring plane and were found to be repulsive around C-H bonds. Assign ments of the photoelectron bands of cobaltocene were discussed in deta il by using 2D-PIES and the density functional theory (DFT). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.