15min:

MARILYN E. JACOX, WARREN E. THOMPSON AND DANIEL FORNEY, Optical Technology Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8441.

When a mixture of C₂H₄ in a large excess of neon is codeposited at 4.3 K with a beam of neon atoms that have been excited in a microwave discharge, the infrared spectrum of the resulting solid includes absorptions of C₂H₄⁺. Experiments using isotopically substituted ethylene and density functional calculations support the proposed assignment, which is consistent with recent gas-phase threshold photoelectron spectroscopic observations. Evidence for the stabilization of other products, including the uncharged vinyl radical, will also be presented.