Photodissociation of trapped ions

The ion-trapping ion cyclotron resonance spectrometer, or Fourier transform mass spectrometer, provides a powerful and convenient environment for the study of photodissociation of gas-phase ions. This capability has been explored for about 30 years in a number of laboratories including our own. A variety of developments and applications, historical and current, are organized here under five broad headings: (1) optical spectroscopy of ions; (2) kinetics of the dissociation process; (3) dynamics of the dissociation process; (4) thermochemistry of dissociation; and (5) probing the structure and energy of the ions. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.