Threshold photoelectron−photoion coincidence spectroscopy has been used to investigate the dissociation
kinetics of the bis(benzene) chromium ion, (C6H6)2Cr+. The dissociation of the (C6H6)2Cr+ ion proceeds by
the sequential loss of the two benzene ligands. The two benzene-loss reactions were found to be metastable
(lifetimes in the microsecond range) at photon energies close to the dissociation limits of the precursor ions.
By simulating the resulting asymmetric time-of-flight peak shapes and breakdown diagram, the 0 K appearance
energies of the product ions C6H6Cr+ and Cr+ were determined to be 7.91 ± 0.15 and 9.61 ± 0.18 eV,
respectively. The two C6H6−Cr bond energies in the (C6H6)2Cr+ ion were determined to be 2.51 ± 0.15 and
1.70 ± 0.15 eV, respectively. Using the heats of formation of the fully dissociated products, C6H6 and Cr+,
the 298 K heats of formation of (C6H6)2Cr, (C6H6)2Cr+, and C6H6Cr+ were obtained to be 286 ± 17, 804 ± 18,
and 968 ± 15 kJ/mol, respectively. Neutral C6H6−Cr bond energies of 2.78 and 0.06 eV were determined for
the first and second losses of the benzene ligand, respectively.