J. Muse

Total electron scattering cross sections for methanol and ethanol at intermediate energies

Absolute total cross section (TCS) measurements of electron scattering from gaseous methanol and ethanol molecules are reported for impact energies from 60 to 500 eV, using the linear transmission method. The attenuation of intensity of a collimated electron beam through the target volume is used to determine the absolute TCS for a given impact energy, using the Beer–Lambert law to first approximation. Besides these experimental measurements, we have also determined TCS using the additivity rule.

Low Energy Electron Scattering from Polyatomic Targets

Low energy elastic electron scattering cross-sections from water and several alcohols are presented. This paper addresses accurately measuring quantitative differential elastic scattering cross-sections, using the relative flow method with an aperture source, and focuses on the long range dipole interaction of the scattering electron with these polar targets. The electron-dipole interaction dominates the scattering for these molecules and contributes significantly to their integral elastic cross-sections.