Disentangling vibrationally-dependent molecular dynamics in mutual neutralisation reactions

Disentangling vibrationally-dependent molecular dynamics in mutual neutralisation reactions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Disentangling vibrationally-dependent molecular dynamics in mutual neutralisation reactions Richard Thomas, Mathias Poline, Arnaud Dochain, Stefan Rosén, and 8 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4914506/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Products and dynamics of mutual neutralisation (MN) reactions involving even simple molecular ions are largely unknown. Combining cryogenically stored-and-merged ion beams with coincident product-imaging addresses this issue.Application to the reaction of O 2 + with O − , which occurs in atmospheric phenomena such as sprites and in high-pressure air or O 2 discharge, we find that their low-collision-energy MN always leads to dissociation of the O 2 , governed by a two-step mechanism involving Rydberg states in O 2 which couple to the final dissociation channels through Rydberg-valence interactions. We measure the partial kinetic-energy releases both in the initial e − -transfer and final dissociation steps which allows us to identify the Rydberg states. We find that the observed products depend on the vibrational levels of the O 2 + ion. This type of information has not been available before, and we believe that it will significantly advance theory and models of MN processes involving small molecules. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Physical chemistry/Reaction kinetics and dynamics Physical sciences/Chemistry/Physical chemistry/Chemical physics Physical sciences/Chemistry/Physical chemistry/Excited states Physical sciences/Chemistry/Physical chemistry/Electron transfer Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files MNO2OThomasSupplementaryMaterials.pdf Disentangling vibrationally-dependent molecular dynamics in mutual neutralisation reactions Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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