Electronic transition of palladium monoboride

J Phys Chem A. 2012 Nov 29;116(47):11568-72. doi: 10.1021/jp309093f. Epub 2012 Nov 8.

Abstract

The laser-induced fluorescence spectrum of palladium monoboride (PdB) in the visible region between 465 and 520 nm has been observed and analyzed. Gas-phase PdB molecules were produced by the reaction of diborane (B(2)H(6)) seeded in argon with laser ablated palladium atoms. Thirteen vibrational bands have been recorded, which included transitions of both Pd(10)B and Pd(11)B isotopic species. These bands belong to the [19.7](2)Σ(+)-X(2)Σ(+) system, with ground X(2)Σ(+) state bond length, r(o), determined to be 1.7278 Å. A molecular orbital energy level diagram was used to understand the observed ground and excited electronic states. This work represents the first experimental investigation of the electronic spectroscopy of the PdB molecule.