A study of the spectroscopic and thermodynamic properties of furan by means of photoabsorption, photoelectron and photoion spectroscopy

Three experimental techniques (photoabsorption, photoelectron, and photoion spectroscopy) have been used to study the spectroscopic and thermodynamic properties of furan. The absolute photoabsorption cross-sections of furan-h₄ and furan-d₄ have been measured using a double ion chamber and a new Rydberg series converging onto the G ²A₁ ionisation threshold has been observed. HeI-excited photoelectron spectra of the X ²A₂, the A ²B₁ and the G ²A₁ states of furan-d₄ have been recorded. Vibrational structure has been observed in all three bands and has allowed the energies of the ?₃, ?₄, ?₆ and ?₈ vibrational modes to be determined. Time-of-flight mass spectra have been recorded using monochromatic synchrotron radiation, and appearance energies have been measured for 19 fragment ions and the doubly charged parent ion. The fragmentation processes leading to the production of several high-intensity fragment ions have been modelled using ab initio and semi-empirical methods.