An Experimental and Computational Study of the Electron Affinity of Boron Oxide

The 351 nm photoelectron spectrum of BO - is reported. Detachment to form 2 ∑ + BO is observed, and the electron affinity of BO is determined to be 2.508 ± 0.008 eV. From the photoelectron spectra, vibrational frequencies of 1875 ± 30 cm -1 and 1665 ± 30 cm -1 are obtained for X̃ BO and BO -, respectively, and the bond length in BO - is found to be 1.236 ± 0.010 Å. The measured EA is used to derive a bond energy in BO - of 9.39 eV. High-level molecular orbital calculations of the electron affinity are reported. The results from multiconfigurational SCF, G2, and complete basis set calculations are in good agreement with experiment.