kinetic study at 0.5 torr of the system NH2+ + CH3OH in the energy range 0.04–0.7 eV: Importance of termolecular formation of NH4+ at low energy

Abstract The system NH 2 + + CH 3 OH has been studied at 0.5 torr in the T eff range 350–5000 K in a drift-tube mass spectrometer apparatus (TDSM). A reaction scheme is proposed and the rate coefficients given for each step of the mechanism. One of the significant results is the observation of formation of NH 4 + as a major fraction of the total ionisation, by a termolecular reaction involving CH 3 O0H as the third body, at low energy. At high temperature the only fast reaction is that of bimolecular proton transfer.