Abstract
Efficient vibrational quenching of CO + ( v = 1) by N 2 led to the deduction of an unexpectedly strong attractive potential between CO + and N 2. This was subsequently confirmed by ab initio quantal calculations of the CO +.N 2 bond strength. The bond energy of CO +.N 2 has now been determined in a selected ion flow drift tube, by measuring collisional destruction and formation of CO +.N 2. The bond energy is found to be 0.7 ± 0.2 eV. This is sufficiently large to rationalize the fast vibrational quenching but somewhat less than an ab initio value. The large value of D(CO +.N 2) can unambiguously be explained by resonance interaction between CO +.N 2 and the charge-transfer CO.N 2 + states.
Published Version
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