Theory of ion—molecule collisions: Effect of the induced dipole—induced dipole potential on ion—molecule capture rate constants

Abstract

A classical theory for ion—molecule interactions is developed which takes into account the induced dipole—induced dipole potential energy. Theoretical capture collision rate constants obtained using the theory are slightly greater than Langevin predictions for thermal energies at 300 K. The theoretical rate constant increases considerably as relative kinetic energy increases for collisions involving ions with large polarizabilities.