title: Dynamics of low-energy electron attachment to formic acid.
abstract: Low-energy electrons (<2 eV) can fragment gas phase formic acid (HCOOH) molecules through resonant dissociative attachment processes. Recent experiments have shown that the principal reaction products of such collisions are formate ions (HCOO-) and hydrogen atoms. Using first-principles electron scattering calculations, we have identified the responsible negative ion state as a transient pi* anion. Symmetry considerations dictate that the associated dissociation dynamics are intrinsically polyatomic: a second anion surface, connected to the first by a conical intersection, is involved in the dynamics and the transient anion must necessarily deform to nonplanar geometries before it can dissociate to the observed stable products.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Rescigno
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Trevisan
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Orel