Experimental and ab initio theoretical studies of electron binding to formamide, N-methylformamide, and N,N-dimethylformamide

The influence of methylation upon adiabatic electron affinities of formamide (F), N-methylformamide (NMF), and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) is experimentally investigated by means of Rydberg electron transfer spectroscopy and calculated with the use of high-level ab initio methods. In the anions of these systems the excess electrons are captured in diffuse dipole-bound states. The methylation of formamide results in a slight increase of the dipole moment and in an increased molecular size. The two factors have opposite effects on the electron affinity. Both experimental data and theoretical results are in agreement, showing that the molecular size effect dominates and that the electron affinity noticeably decreases with the methylation.