Statistical Phase-Space Model of the Collision-Induced Dissociation of Excited O2+ and NO+ Ions

Abstract

Cross sections for the collision‐induced dissociation of O₂⁺ and NO⁺ ions have been calculated as a function of reactant‐ion kinetic energy. The dissociative cross sections for individual reactant‐ion electronic and vibrational states, weighted to account for the internal state distributions of reactant ions produced in electron‐impact ionization processes, have been compared with recent measurements. The magnitudes of the cross sections estimated by the statistical model are larger than those observed in the laboratory; however, the variations of the calculated cross sections with both ion internal energy and ion kinetic energy are in good agreement with experiment.