Mass-Spectrometric and Theoretical Evidence for NH4 and H3O

Abstract

The unusual chemical species H3O and NH4 have been studied using both experimental and theoretical methods. Experimentally the species were investigated by means of a mass spectrometer equipped with two different reactors designed to produce reactive species. The NH4 was produced by surface chemistry techniques, whereas H3O was produced by irradiating water vapor with ionizing electrons. A study of the ionization potential of NH4 by surface ionization techniques gave a value of 5.9 eV. The ionization potential of H3O was measured by conventional techniques and a value of 10.9 eV was obtained. In the theoretical investigation, the physical parameters are given including s-, p-, and d-type orbitals for H3O and s-, p-, and f-type orbitals for NH4. The calculations for NH4 predict a tetrahedral structure with internuclear distances of about 1.06 Å and they predict a planar H3O molecule with bond distances about 1.03 Å. The ionization potentials of H3O and NH4 were estimated to 3.9 and 3.0 eV.