Negative ions from phosphorus halides due to cesium charge exchange

An experiment has been conducted in which cesium atoms in the kinetic energy range 2–350 eV collide with phosphorus halides. Parent anions and fragments are formed. Molecular energies are obtained from threshold measurements. The electron affinites for PCl3, POCl3, PBr3, PCl2Br, PBr2Cl, and POCl2 are found to be 0.8, 1.4, 1.6, 1.5, 1.6, and 3.8 eV, respectively. The P–X bond energies for PCl3, POCl3, and PBr3 are 3.3, 3.5, and 2.6 eV, respectively.