Mobility of Hydrogen Ions (H+, H2+, H3+) in Hydrogen

Abstract

Force laws for ${\mathrm{H}}^{+}$, ${\mathrm{H}}_2^{+}$, and ${\mathrm{H}}_3^{+}$ in ${\mathrm{H}}_2$ are calculated from theory and from results on the scattering of low-velocity ion beams in ${\mathrm{H}}_2$ gas. These results are then used to calculate the mobilities of the hydrogen ions in ${\mathrm{H}}_2$ gas as a function of temperature. The mobilities of ${\mathrm{H}}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{H}}_2^{+}$ decrease slightly with increasing temperature, but the mobility of ${\mathrm{H}}_3^{+}$ increases strongly. The agreement with experiment indicates that the unidentified hydrogen ion whose mobility has been measured is probably ${\mathrm{H}}_2^{+}$, rather than the usually assumed ${\mathrm{H}}_3^{+}$.