Reactions of [CH3]+ and [CD3]+ with alcohols

The reactions of [CH₃]⁺ and [CD₃]⁺ with a number of C₁ to C₅ alcohols were studied at approximately thermal energies (0.1 eV) using a tandem Dempster ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. Branching ratios obtained under single collision conditions are reported for [CH₃]⁺ and [CD₃]⁺ with methanol, perdeutero methanol, ethanol, allyl alcohol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, perdeutero-2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, t-butanol, cyclopentanol and 1-pentanol. The results are examined in terms of the mechanism of reactions and indicate that upon progression to larger alcohols, the formation of a long-lived adduct becomes less important in determining the reaction products.