Entropy bottlenecks in ion-molecule reactions

The significance of entropy bottlenecks in dissociation and recombination pathways in the prototype ionic system CH3 + CH3(+) has been investigated. Ion-molecule systems are shown to react through an entirely different dynamics than neutral systems, due to intrinsic differences in the shapes of the relevant potential surfaces. Consequences with regard to the interpretation of experimental rate parameters in the ion-molecule area are discussed.