Ion-molecule reactions in the vinyl methyl ether system studied by ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

The main reactions of the molecular ion of vinyl methyl ether with its parent molecule are the formation of the ions C₄H₈O₂⁺, C₅H₈O⁺ and C₃H₇O₂⁺ with relative rate constants of 0.20, 0.10 and 0.70 respectively. These reactions and those in the presence of acetone-d₆ and hexan-2-one clearly distinguish the ion from other C₃H₆O⁺ isomers, and this is supported by observation of the metastable transitions of the ion. Deuterium labelling studies indicate that H/D scrambling occurs only in the formation of the C₄H₈O₂⁺ ion and possible reaction mechanisms are discussed in the light of this.