Self-reactions in the HCl+ (DCl+) + HCl system: a state-selective investigation of the role of rotation

Abstract

The self-reaction of state-selected HCl⁺ (DCl⁺) ions with HCl has been investigated in a guided ion beam setup. The absolute cross sections for proton transfer and deuteron transfer decrease with increasing center of mass collision energy, E_c.m.. The cross section for charge transfer (DCl⁺ + HCl) exhibits a maximum at E_c.m. = 0.5 eV. The cross section for PT and DT decrease significantly with increasing rotational angular momentum in the molecular ion, for the PT the cross section increases again for the highest angular momentum investigated. The rotational dependence of the cross section is rationalized by a simple model in which both the collision energy and part of the rotational energy are available for the reaction. The contribution of the rotation to the total energy available itself depends on the collision energy.