Non-resonant multophoton ionization of cyclopentane and its heterocyclic analogues

We report non-resonant multiphoton ionization time-of-flight mass spectra for cyclopentane, tetrahydrofuran, tetrahydrothiophene and pyrrolidine for 355 nm excitation over a wide range of laser intensities. Unlike the corresponding three-membered ring system, there is little dependence of the fragmentation pathways upon the laser intensity. The results also indicate that the mechanisms for the molecules studied cannot be generalized and are not necessarily related to those of the three-membered rings.