A tandem mass spectrometry and Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance study of ionized ethylated acetone and deuterated analogs

The unimolecular dissociation of (CH₃)₂C⁺OC₂H₅ ions (I) and their deuterated analogs, generated by ion-molecule reactions (IMR) in acetone-ethyl iodide mixtures was studied by tandem mass Spectrometry methods. Two significant processes that yielded I ions were identified. The Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance study showed that the reaction between ionized ethyl iodide and neutral acetone was the principal source of I. This process involved the formation of the stable mixed ionized dimer, C₂H₅I^·O=C(CH₃)₂]^+· (II), which dissociated by the loss of an I atom. Other important fragmentation pathways of II were the formation of C₂H₅I^+·, (CH₃)₂CO^+·; and (CH₃)₂COI⁺ and the loss of CH₃CHI^·. The major dissociation of I was the loss of C₂H₄. The activation energy for this reaction was determined by metastable ion appearance energy measurements to be ～55 kJ mol^?1 above the thermochemical minimum. The analysis of the metastable and collision-induced dissociation of D-labeled I showed an unusual time-energy effect on the degree of H/D mixing, with the highest selectivity for the ethene loss β-H(D)-atom shift] being observed for ions with the lowest internal energies. Collisional excitation could not produce significant H/D mixing among dissociating ions. The results were rationalized by the existence of two species— the classical (2-ethoxypropyl) and nonclassical (proton-bound acetone-ethene pair) isomers of I. The classical structure was originally formed by IMR or from II. The energy barrier for the classical to nonclassical isomerization lay well above the thermochemical threshold for C₂H₄ loss, providing only limited H-atom mixing in nonclassical ions that were always formed in their dissociative state. The effect of the proton affinity of the carbonyl compound on the H/D mixing in RR′C⁺OC₂H₅ ions was studied. It was shown that the selectivity for the ethene loss (β-H-atom shift) generally increased with the increase of the proton affinity of RR′CO. Neutralization-reionization mass spectrometry was applied to a study of (CH₃)₂C⁺OR ions, where R = H, I, C₂H₅. The observation of a recovery signal for the ion I was attributed to the formation of the 2-ethoxypropyl radical. Neutral counterparts of (CH₃)₂COI⁺ ions were also generated, being the first example of IO-substituted alkyl radicals.