Calculated reaction pathway for o-benzyne^•+ (the C₆H₄^•+ isomer shown) dissociating into (C₄H₂^•+ + C₂H₂) and then C₄H₂^•+ dissociating into (C₃H⁺ + CH^•). The energies of product pairs (P), transitions states (TS), and intermediate minima (I) are given with respect to groundstate benzonitrile^•+. In addition to the main sequence shown in red, the energies of (o-benzyne^•+ + CNH, P₂) and (C₄H₂^•+ + C₃H₃N, P₄) are marked. They represent alternative starting points for the subsequent reactions of o-benzyne^•+ and C₄H₂^•+. The pathways leading to P₁, P₂, and P₄ from benzonitrile^•+ have been reported recently (Rap et al. 2023; Kamer et al. 2023), so they are not repeated in this figure.