Evidence of Electron Capture of an Outgoing Photoelectron Wave by a Nonvalence State in (C6F6) n

Frequency-resolved photoelectron spectra are presented for (C6F6) n – with n = 1–5 that show that C6F6 – is solvated by neutral C6F6 molecules. Direct photodetachment channels of C6F6 – are observed for all n, leaving the neutral in the S0 ground state or triplet states, T1 and T2. For n ≥ 2, an additional indirect electron loss channel is observed when the triplet-state channels open. This indirect emission appears to arise from the electron capture of the outgoing photoelectron s-wave by a neutral solvent molecule through an anion nonvalence state. The same process is not observed for the S0 detachment channel because the outgoing electron wave is predominantly a p-wave. Our results show that anion nonvalence states can act as electron-accepting states in cluster environments and can be viewed as precursor states for diffuse states of liquid C6F6.