The formation and fragmentation of the indene dication C9H82+ is studied using synchrotron radiation. The double-ionization energy of indene amounts to 21.8 +/- 0.1 eV. The appearance energies of the fragments C9H72+ and C9H62+ are 25.8 +/- 0.1 eV and 25.7 +/- 0.2 eV, respectively. Although the appearance energies are almost the same, the dicationic fragment C9H62+ is formed in a higher yield than C9H72+. It is suggested that the elimination of atomic hydrogen is associated with a considerable energy barrier, whereas the H-2 elimination proceeds via very small barrier or is barrier-less process with respect to the reaction endothermicity. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.