Reactions between CH4+ and C2H5OH

We report results of an experimental investigation of the reactions of CH4+ ions colliding at selected relative kinetic energies in the eV region with C2H5OH molecules. Employing the "photo-electron product ion coincidence method (PEPICO)," also the internal energy of the CH4+ ion is controlled and varied between 0 and 1.7 eV. It is found that the product ions are formed in two steps, where the first step is either a proton transfer leading to C2H5OHH+, or an electron transfer leading to C2H5OH+. No indication for the occurrence of rearrangement or association processes is found. The ions formed in the first direct reaction step are found to dissociate partly, leading to a final product ion mass spectrum consisting of the six masses, 47, 46, 45, 31, 29, 19 corresponding to the ions C2H5OHH+, C2H5OH+, C2H5O+, CH2OH+, C2H5+, and H3O+, respectively. The distribution of the abundances of these masses is found not to change significantly when the average relative kinetic energy is varied between 0.2 and 6 eV, and the internal energy of CH4+ is varied between 0 and 1.7 eV. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.