The total cross sections for the dissociative attachment (DA) process
are reported for eight normal chloroalkanes CnH2n+1Cl for n=2-9, two s
econdary compounds 2-chloropropane and 2-chlorobutane, one tertiary co
mpound t-butyl chloride, and three cyclic chloroalkanes c-CnH2n-1Cl fo
r n=4-6, for electron energies below 4 eV. Using vertical attachment e
nergies (VAEs) determined by electron transmission spectroscopy elsewh
ere and in this work, we show that the resonance widths vary linearly
with VAE in this series of compounds and that the peak DA cross sectio
ns decline exponentially with increasing VAE. The small upper bound to
the DA cross section reported previously for methyl chloride is discu
ssed and is consistent with the measurements made on the remaining chl
oroalkanes.