The reactions of F+ions at thermal energies

The rate coefficients and product ions have been determined for the reactions of F + ions with some fifteen molecular gases at 300 K using a SIFT apparatus. The reactant gases were N 2 , CO, CO 2 , H 2 , D 2 , NO, O 2 , C 6 H 6 , C 2 H 4 , C 2 H 2 , CH 4 , NH 3 , H 2 O, H 2 S and OCS. The mechanisms of the reactions are interpreted in terms of the accessible electronic states of the parent molecular ions formed in the (predominantly) charge transfer processes that occur. For two reactions, the electronic states of the product ions have been identified experimentally; for the other reactions, the states of the product ions have been inferred in the light of the available data obtained from photoelectron spectroscopy studies.