Electron attachment to the chlorosilanes and chloromethanes.

The cross sections for dissociative attachment in the chlorosilanes and chloromethanes for electrons in the energy range 0.2–5.0 eV have been measured. In addition, measurements of the total electron scattering cross sections of the chloromethanes in the 0.2–12.0 eV range are reported. It is observed that dissociative attachment is much more probable in the chloromethanes than the chlorosilanes. This is explained by quantum mechanical calculations which reveal qualitative differences in the nature of the electron–molecule complex for the silanes as compared to the methanes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]