BENZENE OXIDATION BY BARE FEO plus IN THE GAS-PHASE

Bare FeO+ reacts in the gas phase with benzene at collision rate (k = 1.3 x 10(-9) cm3 molecule-1 s-1), giving rise to the formation of Fe(C6H4)+/H2O (5%), Fe(C5H6)+/CO (37%), Fe(C5H5)+/CO/H . (2%), and Fe+/C6H5OH (56 %). Neither the reaction rate nor the product distribution are subject to a significant kinetic isotope effect, thus, ruling out several mechanistic variants described in the literature to be operative for 'analogous' arene oxidation processes in solution. A mechanism is suggested which is in keeping with the experimental findings, and which also accounts for some remarkable results obtained, when two [Fe,C6,H6,O]+ isomers are generated and subjected to a neutralization-re-ionization experiment in the gas phase.