Double-imaging photoelectron photoion
coincidence spectroscopy
(i
2PEPICO) with tunable synchrotron vacuum
ultraviolet radiation was used to record threshold ionization mass
spectra of the halocyclohexanes C6H11X (X =
Cl, Br, and I). Calculations show that experimental dissociative ionization
thresholds correspond to thermochemical limits. Among the processes
observed (X loss, followed by C2H4 or C3H6 loss; C2H3Cl loss; HCl
loss, followed by CH3 or C2H4 loss),
halogen atom loss can be used to derive enthalpies of formation and
C–X bond energies in the cation. As an ancillary value, we
propose a new proton affinity for cyclohexene at PA298K(c-C6H10) = 771.5 ± 1.7 kJ mol–1. The halogen loss onsets 10.74 ± 0.06 eV, 10.125 ± 0.005,
and 9.474 ± 0.005 eV thus yield Δf
H
o
298K(C6H11X (g)) = −164.4
± 6.2, −114.4 ± 2.3, and −56.3 ± 2.3
kJ mol–1 for X = Cl, Br, and I, respectively. The
last two agree with DFT-calculated isodesmic reaction energies very
well, as opposed to G4 theory for X = Br. The C–X bond energy
in the cation is the lowest for X = Br. This is the sum result of
the weakening C–X bond in the neutral and the increasing stabilization
of the parent ion with increasing halogen size.