A beam scattering study of the dynamics of CH+4(CH4,CH3)CH+5 reaction in the eV collision energy range: Three competing mechanisms of CH+5 formation

A crossed‐beam study of the reaction CH+4(CH4,CH3)CH+5 was carried out in the collision energy range 0.6–2.3 eV. Three distinct patterns were observed, which may be interpreted in terms of three competing mechanisms for CH+5 formation: proton stripping, H‐atom pickup, and intermediate complex decomposition. The existence of a C2H+8 intermediate, stable towards dissociation, is suggested by the results. The relative weights of the three mechanisms were estimated as a function of collision energy.