Electron attachment to C2 fluorocarbon radicals at high temperature

Electron attachment and positive ion chemistry of monohydrogenated fluorocarbon radicals

Rate coefficients and product branching fractions for electron attachment and for reaction with Ar(+) are measured over the temperature range 300-585 K for three monohydrogenated fluorocarbon (HFC) radicals (CF3CHF, CHF2CF2, and CF3CHFCF2), as well as their five closed-shell precursors (1-HC2F4I, 2-HC2F4I, 2-HC2F4Br, 1-HC3F6I, 2-HC3F6Br). Attachment to the HFC radicals is always fairly inefficient (between 0.1% and 10% of the Vogt-Wannier capture rate), but generally faster than attachment to analogous perfluorinated carbon radicals. The primary products in all cases are HF-loss to yield C(n)F(m-1)(-) anions, with only a minor branching to F(-) product. In all cases the temperature dependences are weak. Attachment to the precursor halocarbons is near the capture rate with a slight negative temperature dependence in all cases except for 2-HC2F4Br, which is ∼10% efficient at 300 K and becomes more efficient, approaching the capture rate at higher temperatures. All attachment kinetics are successfully reproduced using a kinetic modeling approach. Reaction of the HFC radicals with Ar(+) proceeds at or near the calculated collisional rate coefficient in all cases, yielding a wide variety of product ions.