Ion–molecule
charge-exchange reactions Ar+ +
CO → Ar + CO+ at the center-of-mass collision energies
of 4.40, 6.40, and 8.39 eV are investigated using ion velocity map
imaging technique. Although multiple electronically excited states
of CO+ are accessed, the population of CO+ at
the A2Π state is predominant in the present collision-energy
range. In contrast to our previous study for NO, but similar to the
case of O2, the forward-scattered CO+ yields
show a broader angular distribution at the higher collision energy.
Typically, the Franck–Condon-region charge transfer, energy
resonant charge transfer, and intimate collision are three different
mechanisms in which the intimate collision experiences an intermediate
complex, and this mechanism usually plays an essential role in the
thermal-energy reactions. However, the present observations indicate
that this mechanism, concerning the intermediate (Ar–CO)+, is still of utmost importance in a relatively high collision-energy
range.