Maximum Mobility of Excess Electrons in Insulating Molecular Fluids, Related to Polarizability and Shape

Abstract

In liquids of spherical molecules (Ar, Kr, Xe, CH₄) the mobility of thermal electrons passes through a maximum at a density near 1 × 10²⁸ molecule/m³. The ratio R ^max _μn of the maximum mobility to the mobility in the gas phase, normalized for density, correlates strongly with the isotropic molecular polarizability α. The value of R ^max _μn decreases with decreasing sphericity of the molecules.

Key Words:

• Polarizability
• molecular volume
• shape