The term generally used to describe
ionization of any species by photons. The process may, for example, be written
Electrons and photons do not '
impact' molecules or atoms; they interact with them in ways that result in various electronic
excitations including
ionization. For this reason it is recommended that in
mass spectrometry the terms '
electron impact' and '
photon impact' not be used.
Source:
PAC, 1991, 63, 1541
(Recommendations for nomenclature and symbolism for mass spectroscopy (including an
appendix of terms used in vacuum technology). (Recommendations 1991))
on page 1548
PAC, 1996, 68, 2223
(Glossary of terms used in photochemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1996))
on page 2261
Cite as:
IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by
A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997).
XML on-line corrected version: http://goldbook.iupac.org (2006-) created by M. Nic,
J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN 0-9678550-9-8.
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.
