Electron collision with B(CD3)3 molecules

Absolute total cross section (TCS) for electron–trimethylborane-d9 (B(CD3)3, TMB-d9) collisions has been measured at energies ranging from 0.4 to 370 eV using the linear electron-transmission technique. The most visible feature of the TCS energy function is a pronounced broad enhancement peaked between 5 and 10 eV. Some weak structures are also perceptible in the TCS curve. At intermediate energies the experimental results are compared with the cross section obtained as a sum of the integral elastic and ionization cross sections calculated in this work for the B(CH3)3 molecule. Similarities observed in cross sections for planar, boron-containing BX3 (X = F, Cl, CD3) molecules are also pointed out and discussed. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)