REACTION CROSS-SECTION AND PRODUCT ION TIME-OF-FLIGHT MEASUREMENTS FOR COLLISIONS OF N+ AND N-2+ WITH CO2 AT SUPRATHERMAL ENERGIES

Charge exchange and dissociative ionization cross sections are reported for N+-CO2 and N2+-CO2 collisions at center-of-mass energies between 2 and 40 eV. Product ion kinetic energies are measured using time-of-flight techniques. Energy resonance considerations based on CO2 ionization Franck-Condon factors predict charge exchange to be slow for both of these reaction pairs. The N +-CO2 charge exchange, however, exhibits a large cross section and proceeds about one order of magnitude faster than the N 2+-CO2 charge exchange. The formation of CO+ in N+-CO2 collisions is reported, while no dissociative ionization products are observed in the N2 +-CO2 system. © 1990 American Institute of Physics.