The mobility of CN+ in helium at 293 K

Abstract

Arrival-time distributions of CN⁺ ions in dilute mixtures of HCN and C₂N₂ in helium at 293 K have been measured in a drift-tube mass spectrometer with a movable ion source. The mobility of the CN⁺ ion in helium was evaluated over the range of E/N from 40 × 10^–21 to 140 × 10^–21 m² V by comparison of the experimental distributions with curves calculated from ion-transport equations. The reliability of the mobilities were tested by comparison of calculated and experimental arrival-time distributions for a variation of the total drift-tube pressure over the range 0.2–0.5 Torr.