Formation of HCO+ and HCS+ Ions in the Photodissociation of CH3OC(S)SCH3 under VUV Synchrotron Radiation

Abstract

Synchrotron-based total ion yield and photoelectron-photoion-coincidence spectra have been applied to investigate the electronic structure and the dissociative ionization of gaseous O,S-dimethyl xanthate, CH3OC(S)SCH3, in the shallow-core S 2p region. The spectral assignment and the electronic structure are interpreted in terms of the most stable synperiplanar conformer in the Cs symmetry point group. The use of tunable synchrotron radiation allows for a selective excitation of sulfur atoms at different photon energy values, including resonance transitions and ionization around the S 2p level. The fragmentation patterns show that the title molecule is well suited as a laboratory precursor of ionic species found in the interstellar medium, especially formyl and thioformyl cations, HCO+ and HCS+, respectively.