The temperature dependence of unimolecular decomposition processes following field ionization

Abstract A new field ionization source is described which can be heated externally up to 900 K. With this source the temperature dependence of the fragmentation of three isomeric hexanes is studied. Furthermore a method for the approximate determination of the temperature of a directly heated field ionization emitter is presented. The temperature dependence of field ionization spectra obtained by direct and indirect heating of the emitter is compared. The results demonstrate that organic molecules do not accommodate to the temperature of a directly heated emitter.