The elusive methene ylides CH2CIH, CH2FH and CH2OH2

Abstract The possible existence of the ylides CH 2 CIH, CH 25 FH and CH 2 OH 2 as stable neutral species in the gas phase has been investigated by the neutralization–reionization (NR) mass spectrometry of their radical cations using a double‐focusing mass spectrometer of reversed geometry. The experiments were, for the most part, performed under single‐collision conditions with Xe as the neutralization target gas and He and O 2 as reionization …