The nature of the C7H7+ ion created through resonant dissociative multiphotoionization of para-chlorotoluene by an ultraviolet (UV) laser was investigated thanks to its interaction with a second laser beam. The dissociation pattern corresponding to one or several photon absorption could be observed. Cross section for the one-photon absorption in the 265/530 nm range revealed the presence of the tropylium and benzyl isomers and suggested they possessed substantial internal energy. This was confirmed by the study of the C7H7++hν■C5H5++C2H2 reaction, and more precisely of its rate and of the kinetic energy released. A ladder switch mechanism for the three-photon dissociative ionization of para-chlorotoluene leading to C7H7+ is shown to agree with our results.
Ion-Molecule Reactions of CO<sub>2</sub><sup>+</sup>with Butane and Isobutane at Thermal Energy
Rate constants and product ion distributions have been determined for thermal energy reactions of CO2+ with n-C4H10 and i-C4H10 by using an ion-beam apparatus. The total rate constants are (9.8 ± 2.0) × 10−10 and (1.0 ± 0.2) × 10−9 cm3 s−1 for n-C4H10 and i-C4H10, respectively. These values amount to about 75% of the collision rate constants estimated from the Langevin theory. C4H9+, C3Hn+ (n = 5—7), and C2Hn+ (n = 3—5) are produced from n-C4H10 with branching ratios of 6, 56, and 38%, while C4H9+ and C3Hn+ (n = 5—7) are formed from i-C4H10 with branching ratios of 7 and 93%, respectively. The lack of C2Hn+ fragments from i-C4H10 is attributed to a low probability of significant rearrangement of chemical bonds for the formation of the C2Hn+ fragments. The product ion distribution in the CO2+/n-C4H10 reaction is in good agreement with that predicted from the fragmentation pattern of n-C4H10+ at 13.78 eV, indicating that the CO2+/n-C4H10 reaction proceeds through a near-resonant charge transfer without momentum transfer.