Experimental study of the reactive processes in the gas phase K++i-C3H7Cl collisions: A comparison with Li and Na ions

Reactive collisions between alkali ions (Li+, Na+, and K+) and halogenated hydrocarbon molecules have been studied recently in our research group. In this paper, we have reported on the K+ + i-C3H7Cl system in the 0.20-14.00 eV center-of-mass energy range using a radio frequency guided-ion beam apparatus developed in our laboratory. Aiming at increasing our knowledge about this kind of reactions, we compare our latest results for K+ with those obtained previously for Li+ and Na+. While the reaction channels are the same in all three cases, their energy profiles, reactivity, measured reactive cross-section energy dependences, and even their reaction mechanisms, differ widely. By comparing experimentally measured reactive cross-sections as a function of the collision energy with the ab initio calculations for the different potential energy surfaces, a qualitative interpretation of the dynamics of the three reactive systems is presented in the present work. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.