Intracluster ion-molecule reactions of dimer cations of phenylsilanes

Intracluster ion-molecule reactions of dimer cations of various phenylsilan es were investigated in order to elucidate reaction mechanisms of phenylsil ane cation reported in the gas-phase FT-ICR study. Two types of reactions, SiR3 elimination and SiR2+: transfer, were observed. In the latter case, ou r observation strongly supported that a precursor of the reaction has a pi- type complex configuration, [C6H6. SiR2](+), which has been proposed before . On the contrary, in the former case, a dimer cation forms a reaction inte rmediate and then it dissociates preferentially to a larger exothermic chan nel.