Energy deposition in [Fe(CO)₅]+˙ upon collision with a metal surface

Collision of the title ion upon a stainless steel surface at near‐normal incidence leads to deposition of internal energy in a well‐defined narrow distribution. The energy deposited increases with laboratory collision energy and exceeds 7 eV (average) for 100 eV collisions. The translational‐to‐vibrational energy transfer efficiency is 15% (assuming an infinitely massive target) at 25 eV collision energy. Comparison is made with the internal energy distributions associated with gas‐phase collisional activation using both low and high ion kinetic energies. The narrowness of the distribution of internal energies, the easy access to ions excited to different extents, and the high internal energies accessible, make the ion/surface collision process superior to gas‐phase collisional activation for this system.