Variable angle photoelectron spectroscopy of the fluoroethylenes

He I photoelectron spectra of fluoroethylene, 1,1‐difluoroethylene, cis‐1,2‐difluoroethylene, trans‐1,2‐difluoroethylene, trifluoroethylene, and perfluoroethylene were obtained over the scattering angle range of 45° to 120° and compared with those of ethylene. Vibrational frequencies of the ionic states were measured and their symmetry modes assigned. The asymmetry parameter β as a function of the ionization potential was measured for each molecule. The value of β for the first ionization potential band of these molecules was found to decrease monotonically with increasing fluorine substitution. This variation was interpreted as being due to resonance mixing of the lone pair F π orbitals with C–C π orbitals. The data obtained were used to assign some of the spectral bands observed.