[3] Experiments and calculations generally agree that the methenium ion is planar, with threefold symmetry.

For mass spectrometry studies at low pressure, methenium can be obtained by ultraviolet photoionization of methyl radical,[3] or by collisions of monatomic cations such as C+ and Kr+ with neutral methane.

[5] Upon capture of a low-energy electron (less than 1 eV), it will spontaneously dissociate.

It is proposed as a reactive intermediate that forms upon protonation or hydride abstraction of methane with FSO3H-SbF5.

[7] In June 2023, astronomers detected, for the first time outside the Solar System, methyl cation, CH3+ (and/or carbon cation, C+), the known basic ingredients of life, in interstellar space.