title: Formation of H3+ due to intramolecular bond rearrangement in doubly charged methanol.
abstract: We report the formation of H3+ by proton coagulation in methanol under the impact of low energy Ar(8+) projectiles. Our time-of-flight coincidence measurements with CH3OD establish that the H3+ formation arises from intramolecular bond rearrangement of the methyl group. We have performed ab initio quantum chemical calculations that show the preferred pathway for C-H3 bond cleavage. Fragmentation of organic molecules like methanol under impact of highly charged ions is suggested as an alternative mechanism of H3+ formation in outer space.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Calcutta, 92, A P C Road, Kolkata-700009, India. sankarde@gmail.com
authors.forename: Sankar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De
authors.forename: Jyoti
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rajput
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Safvan