Xenon as a nucleophile in gas-phase displacement reactions: formation of the methyl xenonium ion

Xenon undergoes reaction with protonated methyl fluoride in the gas phase to form abundant quantities of the stable methyl xenonium ion, CH(3)Xe(+). Estimated values for the xenon-carbon and krypton-carbon bond strengths in the rare gas-methyl molecular ions are 43 +/- 8 and 21 +/- 15 kilocalories per mole, respectively.