The mobilities of NO−3, NO−2, NO+, and Cl− in N2: A measure of inelastic energy loss

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Abstract
Ion mobility measurements were made for NO−2, NO−3, NO+, and Cl− ions drifting in N2. The measurements were made in a flow‐drift tube apparatus at 300 K as a function of E/N. The results were compared to previous measurements made at low E/N as a function of temperature. The comparison was made at the same ion‐neutral collision temperatures as calculated from the Wannier equation. The results agree at low collision temperatures (T∼300 K) but disagree at high collision temperatures (T≥400 K). This disagreement or ‘‘mobility difference’’ is attributed to an inelastic energy loss channel for the ion‐neutral collisions in the flow‐drift tube measurements. Using recently developed theory for ion‐swarm phenomena, the differences in mobilities have been used to calculate the dimensionless ratios of inelastic energy loss to momentum transfer in the ion‐neutral collision systems.