Electron-impact partial ionisation cross-sections of ethanol

The partial ionisation cross-sections are reported for cations formed due to electron-impact dissociative ionisation of ethanol by invoking a variant of binary-encounter-Bethe (BEB) model. Being an important molecule in astrophysical and combustion plasma, the cross-sections are required to model this process over an extensive energy range. These are the only theoretical calculations to validate the experimental data. The approach followed is extremely simple and appears effective to estimate the cross-section data for any molecule or its cation. The electron ionisation mass spectrometry data are indispensable in the modelling of electron–molecule interactions. The work is important in several fields of pure and applied physics.