Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Azide Anion (N−3) in the Gas Phase

We report the formation of the azide anion (N−3) in the gas phase by dissociative electron attachment to benzyl azide in a beam experiment. The electron photodetachment cross section of N−3, generated analogously in an ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) spectrometer has been measured. A threshold of 2.76 ± 0.04 eV was obtained corresponding to the vertical detachment energy in N−3. Ab initio calculations on N−3 and N3 predict similar geometries for both compounds, indicating that the photodetachment threshold can be equated with the electron affinity of the azide radical.