Electronic effects in C-H and C-C bond activation. State-specific reactions of FE+ (6D,4F) with methane, ethane, and propane

Reactions of atomic iron ions with methane, ethane, and propane are studied with guided ion beam mass spectrometry. By using different ion sources different electronic states of the ion can be prepared and studied in detail. The first excited state, Fe/sup +/(/sup 4/F), is more reactive than the ground state, Fe/sup +/(/sup 6/D), for all endothermic reactions in all three systems. This result is similar to recent observations of the reactions of these states with H/sub 2/. The different reactivities are explained by using simple molecular orbital arguments. In contrast, Fe/sup +/(/sup 4/F) reacts less efficiently than Fe/sup +/(/sup 6/D) in the exothermic reactions of ethane and propane below 0.5 eV but more efficiently at higher energies. This behavior is explained by a potential energy surface crossing that is avoided at low kinetic energies due to spin-orbit interactions and is permitted at higher energies. Finally, analysis of the threshold behavior of the endothermic reactions provides the bond dissociation energies, D/sup 0/(Fe/sup +/-CH/sub 3/) = 2.51 +/- 0.10 eV (57.9 +/- 2.4 kcal/mol) and D/sup 0/(FeH) = 1.98 +/- 0.13 eV (45.7 +/- 3.0 kcal/mol).