Thermal energy ion condensation reactions in benzene vapor

Abstract

A pulsed electron beam coupled to a time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer has been used to study bimolecular reactions of C 6 H x + ions with the benzene molecule. Rate constants for formation of the complexes C 12 H 10 + , C 12 H 11 + , and C 12 H 12 + have been obtained for electron impact energies of 20, 30, and 50 eV. Rate constants of several reactions involved in the decay of the C 12 H 10 + and C 12 H 11 + complexes have also been obtained. A measurement of the lifetime against decay of the C 12 H 11 + complex yielded an upper limit of 150±50 μsec for an electron impact energy of 40 eV.