Dissociative Photoionization of Chloro-, Bromo-, and Iodocyclohexane: Thermochemistry and the Weak C-Br Bond in the Cation.

Double-imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy (i2PEPICO) 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 ΔfHo298K(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.