Reactions of gaseous ions. I. Methane and ethylene.

At elevated pressures in a mass spectrometer ion source reactions occur between certain ions and the neutral species present. We have studied the various secondary ions formed in methane and ethylene at elevated pressures and have determined the reactions by which they are formed and the rates of these reactions. The rates are all extremely fast. The reaction rates have been treated by classical collision theory and it has been shown that to a fair approximation the cross-sections and reaction rate constants can be predicted from a simple balance of rotational and polarization forces. [Reprinted from J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1957; 79: 2419.]