Stepwise hydration of ionized acetylene trimer. Further evidence for the formation of benzene radical cation

Ionized acetylene trimer (C2H2)3+ binds to several water molecules with binding energies identical to the hydration energies of the benzene radical cation. The (C2H2)3+ ion undergoes proton transfer within the (C2H2)3+(H2O)n clusters with n ⩾ 4. Thus, the formation of the benzene ion is further confirmed in the ionized acetylene clusters.