THE THERMAL-DISSOCIATION PROCESS OF METAL-CARBONYLS ON THE HEATED RE SURFACE - FE(CO)5 AND MN2(CO)10

Thermal dissociation processes of Fe(CO)5 and Mn2(CO)10 were investigated under conditions where gaseous molecules impinge on an incandescent rhenium surface, using the surface ionization (SI) technique in conjunction with mass spectrometric detection. In the case of Fe(CO)5 this process is dominated by thermal dissociation of the compound in a sequential manner, releasing carbonyl ligands, followed by ionization of the dissociated species. In the case of Mn2(CO)10, a metal-ligand cleavage reaction occurs in competition with the metal-metal cleavage process and produces bare metal atoms and dimetallic species.