Ionisation of PF: absolute partial electron ionisation cross sections and the formation and reactivity of dication states.

Absolute partial electron ionisation cross sections, and precursor-specific partial electron ionisation cross sections, for the formation of cations from phosphorus trifluoride (PF) are reported over the electron energy range 50-200 eV. The absolute values are determined by the measurement of cross sections relative to the formation of PF using 2D ion-ion coincidence time-of-flight mass spectrometry and subsequent scaling using binary encounter-Bethe calculations of the total ionisation cross section. This new dataset significantly augments the partial ionisation cross sections for electron ionization of PF found in literature, addressing previous discrepancies in the branching ratios of product ions, and provides the first values for the precursor-specific cross sections.