DYNAMICS OF THE REACTION OF N{sup +} WITH H{sub 2}. V. REACTIVE AND NON-REACTIVE SCATTERING OF N{sup +}({sup 3}p) AT RELATIVE ENERGIES BELOW 3.6 eV.

We have measured product velocity vector distributions for the processes N{sup +}({sup 3}P)(H{sub 2},H)NH{sup +} and N{sup +}({sup 3}P)(H{sub 2},H{sub 2})N+ in the initial relative energy ranges of 0.98~3.60 eV and 0.66~ 2.50 eV respectively using the crossed beam technique. At energies below about 1.9 eV the predominance of a long-lived NH{sub 2}{sup +} complex is inferred from isotropic reactive scattering and a backscattered peak in the non-reactive distributions. Above 1.9 eV there is still a substantial interaction between all three atoms. The dynamics are adequately explained by a mechanism which involves accessing the deep {sup 3}B{sub 1} potential well through an avoided crossing with the {sup 3}A{sub 2} surface when the ·symmetry is relaxed from C{sub 2v} to C{sub s}. The reaction of electronically excited metastable ions, probably N{sup +}({sup 1}D), is seen as a forward peak in the reactive distributions