Observation of the Nucleophilic Displacement (SN2) Reaction F-+CH3Br→CH3F + Br- Induced by Dissociative Electron Capture in Binary van der Waals Clusters

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/bbpc.19971010218

We report on the S_N2 reaction F^- + CH₃Br→FCH3 + Br^- in binary clusters composed of CH₃Br and C₂F₆ in a crossed electron/molecular beam experiment. The reaction is induced by resonance dissociative electron attachment to the C₂F₆ component where the nucleophile F^- is generated at an energy (around 3.8 eV) where CH₃Br does not capture electrons to form Br^-. The results indicate that the cross section for the S_N2 reaction is independent of the total excess energy which can be varied between 1.7 and 5 eV in the present system. VCH Verlagsgesellschaft mbH 1997.