Bond-forming reactions between the molecular oxygen dication and small organic molecules

The reactions of O-2(2+) with CH4, C2H2 and C2H4 have been investigated for the first time, using a position-sensitive coincidence technique, at centre-of-mass collision energies close to 4 eV. The experiments show these interactions yield a wide variety of products which involve the formation of new chemical bonds. The mechanisms of these bond-forming reactions have been investigated by examining the correlations between the velocities of the reactant and product ions which are revealed by the coincidence data. Many of the bond-forming reactions occur via the stripping of an atom (or group of atoms) from the neutral by the O-2(2+) reactant, while other reactions clearly involve the initial formation of a collision complex which then fragments to form the detected products. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.