Electron photodetachment of the phenylnitrene anion radical: EA, .DELTA.H.degree.f, and the singlet-triplet splitting for phenylnitrene

The electron photodetachment (0,0) transitions from the 2 B 2 ground electronic state of PhN .- to the ground triplet state, 3 A 2 , and the excited singlet state, 1 A 2 , of PhN are observed in the relative photodetachment crow section vs wavelength spectrum of PhN .- between 540 and 920 nm. The (0,0) transition thresholds are determined at 867.9±7 nm (1.429±0.011 eV) for 3 A 2 PhN and 557.6±7 nm (2.224±0.028 eV) for the 1 A 2 excited state, which are the respective electron affinities of the these two electronic states of PhN