Study of the dissociation of nitrous oxide following resonant excitation of the nitrogen and oxygen K-shells

A photochemistry study on nitrous oxide making use of site-selective excitation of terminal nitrogen, central nitrogen, and oxygen 1s→3π excitations is presented. The resonant Auger decay which takes place following excitation can lead to dissociation of the N2 O+ ion. To elucidate the nuclear dynamics, energy-resolved Auger electrons were detected in coincidence with the ionic dissociation products, and a strong dependence of the fragmentation pathways on the core-hole site was observed in the binding energy region of the first satellite states. A description based on the molecular orbitals as well as the correlation between the thermodynamical thresholds of ion formation and the first electronic states of N2 O+ has been used to qualitatively explain the observed fragmentation patterns.