Strong fragmentation processes driven by low energy electron attachment to various small perfluoroether molecules

Abstract Negative ion formation in the three perfluoroethers (PFEs) diglyme (C 6 F 14 O 3 ), triglyme (C 8 F 18 O 4 ) and crownether (C 10 F 20 O 5 ) is studied following electron attachment in the range from ∼0 to 15 eV. All three compounds show intense low energy resonances at subexcitation energies ( e.g., the strong bonding to surfaces induced by UV radiation of the substrate or degradation of PFPE films in computer hard disc drives can be explained by their pronounced sensitivity towards low energy electrons.