Two competing fragmentation processes in dimethoxybenzenes depending on their positional isomers: Elimination of CH3 and CHnO (n = 1–3) and formation of methoxycyclopentadienyl and protonated phenol ions

All the metastable transitions observed above m/z 39 in the first field-free region were compared for the three positional isomers of dimethoxybenzene. The observed isomer-dependent fragmentation processes, in particular the formation and decomposition of the m/z 95 (C₆H₇O)⁺ ion, are discussed in terms of two competing fragmentations [elimination of CH₃ and CH_nO (n = 1–3) and formation of methoxycyclopentadienyl and protonated phenol ions] and the relative energies of several isomers of the C₆H₇O⁺ ion calculated with molecular orbital theory.     

Neutral counterparts of the C2H7O+ isomers

The neutral counterparts of the C₂H₇O⁺ isomers CH₃O⁺ (H)CH₃, CH₃CH₂OH₂⁺ and $ {\rm C}_2 \,{\rm H}_4 \,\, \cdot \cdot \cdot \mathop {\rm H}\limits^ + \, \cdot \cdot \cdot {\rm OH}_2 $ were studied by neutralization-reionization mass spectrometry. Protonated dimethyl ether and its —O(D)⁺ analogue were produced by protonation (deuteration) of dimethyl ether and also generated as a fragment ion from (labeled) ionized CH₃OCH₂CH(OH)CH₃ by loss of CH₃CO?. It was observed that the dissociation characteristics of the ions and the stability of their neutral counterpart depended on the internal energy of the protonated ether ions. Stable neutral CH₃?(H)CH₃ was only produced from energy-rich ions. The classical protonated ethanol ion CH₃CH₂OH₂⁺ (a) was produced at threshold by the loss of CH₃CO?. from ionized butane-2,3-diol. Mixtures of a with the non-classical ion $ {\rm C}_2 \,{\rm H}_4 \,\, \cdot \cdot \cdot \mathop {\rm H}\limits^ + \, \cdot \cdot \cdot {\rm OH}_2 $ (b) were produced by reaction of C₂H₅⁺ ions with H₂O. As for the protonated ether, only high-energy a and/or b ions yielded stable hypervalent radicals. It is suggested that the stable C₂H₇?O radicals are Rydberg states.     

Bifunctional even-electron ions. III. Fragmentation behaviour of aliphatic hydroxonium ions containing an additional carbomethoxy group

The primary and subsequent fragmentations of the bifunctional oxonium ions \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${\rm R} \!-\! \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + ({\rm OH})\! -\! ({\rm CH}_2)_n \! - \! {\rm COOCH}_3 $\end{document} (n = 0?5), a, are dominated by functional group interactions. Loss of CH₃OH is the only appreciable primary fragmentation of the higher homoiogues, but for the lowest homologue (a₀) this reaction is missing. Instead, CO loss is observed. The next homologue (a₁) shov.s loss of CH₂CO besides loss of CH₃OH. The mode of the subsequent fragmentations is dependent on the chain length separating the functional group, and formation of cyclic ions is typical of the fragmentation behaviour of a₂ and a₃. Evidence for proton transfer from the carbonyl oxygen to the methoxy group of a protonated ester group is presented.     

Remote fragmentations of protonated aromatic carbonyl compounds via internal reactions in intermediary ion-neutral complexes

Protonated aromatic aldehydes and methyl ketones 1a–10a, carrying initially the proton at the carbonyl group, are prepared by electron impact-induced loss of a methyl radical from 1?arylethanols and 2?aryl?2?propanols, respectively. The aryl moiety of the ions corresponds to a benzene group, a naphthalene group, a phenanthrene group, a biphenyl group, and a terphenyl group. respectively, each substituted by a CH₃OCH₂ side-chain as remote from the acyl substituent as possible. The characteristic reactions of the metastable ions, studied by mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy spectrometry, are the elimination of methanol, the formation of CH₃OCH ₂ ⁺ ions, and the elimination of an ester RCOOCH₃ (R = H and CH₃) . The mechanisms of these fragmentations were studied by using D-labeled derivatives. Confirming earlier results, it is shown that the ester elimination, at least from the protonated aryl methyl ketones, has to proceed by an intermediate [acyl cation/arylmethyl methyl ether]-complex. The relative abundances of the elimination of methanol and of the ester decrease and increase, respectively, with the size of the aromatic system. Clearly, the fragmentation via intermediate ion-neutral complexes is favored for the larger ions. Furthermore, the acyl cation of these complexes can move unrestricted over quite large molecular distances to react with the remote CH₃OCH₂-side-chain, contrasting the restricted migration of a proton by 1,2-shifts (“ring walk”) in these systems.     

Protonenkatalysierte gasphasendehydratisierung von 1,4-diketonen : Ein massenspektrometrisches analogon zur furansynthese in kondensierter phase

It is shown that the gas phase proton catalyzed dehydration of both 2,5-hexanedione (1a: R CH₃) and 1,4-diphenyl-1,4-butanedione (1b: R Ph) yields protonated 2,5-disubstituted furans. the addition of H₃O⁺ to furans followed by ring opening and formation of protonated diketones has not been achieved. Reaction of 1a,b with NH₄⁺/NH₃ does not result in the formation of pyrrole. The main reaction corresponds to the formation of cluster ions, i.e. proton bounded dimers and trimers of diketone and ammonia.     

Metastable ion study of organosilicon compounds. Part I—Diethoxydimethylsilane

Electron impact induced fragmentations of diethoxydimethylsilane (1) and its deuterium-labelled analogues (2 and 3) were investigated by mass-analysed ion kinetic energy spectrometry. The principal fragmentation processes of compound 1 are dominated by silicenium ions which undergo consecutive losses of ethylene and aldehyde molecules. The fragmentations of 1 led to the formation of protonated silanoic acid [CH₃Si(OH)₂]⁺ and protonated dimethyl-silanone [(CH₃)₂Si = OH]⁺, and their unimolecular reacdvities were clarified. The fragmentation characteristics of compound 1 are compared with those of the carbon analogue, acetone diethyl acetal (4).     

Structure des ions [C4H7O]+ obtenus par fragmentations du [1-methylcyclobutanol]

The mass spectra of metastable molecular and fragment ions demonstrate that the loss of CH₃^. from [1-methylcyclobutanol]^.+ leads competitively to three different ions: $\text{a}$ = protonated cyclobutanone; $\text{b}$ = [n-C₃H₇CO]⁺ and $\text{c}$ = protonated methylvinylketone.     

Mass spectrometric monitoring of oxidation of aliphatic C6–C8 hydrocarbons and ethanol in low pressure oxygen and air plasmas

Experimental and theoretical studies on the oxidation of saturated hydrocarbons (n‐hexane, cyclohexane, n‐heptane, n‐octane and isooctane) and ethanol in 28 Torr O₂ or air plasma generated by a hollow cathode discharge ion source were made. Ions corresponding to [M + 15]⁺ and [M + 13]⁺ in addition to [M ? H]⁺ and [M ? 3H]⁺ were detected as major ions where M is the sample molecule. The ions [M + 15]⁺ and [M + 13]⁺ were assigned as oxidation products, [M ? H + O]⁺ and [M ? 3H + O]⁺, respectively. By the tandem mass spectrometry analysis of [M ? H + O]⁺ and [M ? 3H + O]⁺, H₂O, olefins (and/or cycloalkanes) and oxygen‐containing compounds were eliminated from these ions. Ozone as one of the terminal products in the O₂ plasma was postulated as the oxidizing reagent. As an example, the reactions of C₆H₁₄^+? with O₂ and of C₆H₁₃⁺ (CH₃CH₂CH⁺CH₂CH₂CH₃) with ozone were examined by density functional theory calculations. Nucleophilic interaction of ozone with C₆H₁₃⁺ leads to the formation of protonated ketone, CH₃CH₂C(=OH⁺)CH₂CH₂CH₃. In air plasma, [M ? H + O]⁺ became predominant over carbocations, [M ? H]⁺ and [M ? 3H]⁺. For ethanol, the protonated acetic acid CH₃C(OH)₂⁺ (m/z 61.03) was formed as the oxidation product. The peaks at m/z 75.04 and 75.08 are assigned as protonated ethyl formate and protonated diethyl ether, respectively, and that at m/z 89.06 as protonated ethyl acetate. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fragmentations of protonated acetophenones via intermediate ion–molecule complexes

Protonated acetophenones, substituted with a methoxymethyl group in the para and meta positions, have been generated by electron impact induced fragmentation of the correspondingly substituted 2-phenylpropan-2-ols. The metastable ions, formed in the second field-free region of a VG ZAb 2F mass spectrometer, react unimolecularly by elimination of CH₃OH, formation of CH₃CO⁺ and ions, loss of CH₃COOCH₃, and loss of CH₂O. The mechanisms of these fragmentations have been elucidated with the aid of deuterated analogues of the protonated acetophenones. It is shown that these reactions are initiated by an endothermic transfer of the proton at the carbonyl group of the protonated acetophenones to the benzene ring. A further migration of the proton to the ether O atom of the methoxymethyl side-chain leads eventually to the elimination of CH₃OH. Protolytic bond cleavages of either side-chain gives rise to the CH₃CO⁺ and ions. At low internal energies both these ions may be trapped by the aromatic neutral fragment in ion-molecule complexes. Reactions within these complexes result in the energetically favourable losses of CH₃COOCH₃ and CH₂O, respectively. With respect to these reactions, the protonated acetophenones behave analogously to the correspondingly substituted and protonated benzaldehydes.     

Unimolecular reactions of ionized methyl acetate and its hydrogen-rearranged isomers

The proposed formation of [CH₃C(OH)OCH₂]⁺˙ (b) as the intermediate in the isomerization [CH₂?C(OH)OCH₃]⁺˙ (c)?b?[CH₃COOCH₃]⁺˙ (c has been confirmed by preparation of b from CH₃COOCH₂OCH₃. For the three isomers a–c the dominant metastable ion (MI) dissociation, CH₃O˙ loss, involves identical kinetic energy release values. The kinetic barriers for a?b and b?c must be nearly as high as that for CH₃O˙ loss from c, as shown by the insensitivity of the mass spectra from collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) of a–c to ionizing electron energy. The H/D scrambling of metastable [CH₂?C(OD)OCH₃]⁺˙ and c–D₃ ions confirm this, indicating that the barrier for a?b is slightly below that for b?c. Minor low-energy dissociations include losses of CH₄ and CH₃OH from a and losses of ˙CHO and CH₂O from b. Comparison of MI and CAD spectra of a–c with those from [CH₃(OH)CH₂O]⁺˙ (d) and [CH₃COCH₂OH]⁺˙ (e) give no evidence for skeletal rearrangement of a–c to d or e.     

Destabilized carbenium ions: α-carbomethoxy-α,α-dimethyl-methyl cations

Tertiary α-carbomethoxy-α,α-dimethyl-methyl cations a have been generated by electron impact induced fragmentation from the appropriately α-substituted methyl isobutyrates 1–4. The destabilized carbenium ions a can be distinguished from their more stable isomers protonated methyl methacrylate c and protonated methyl crotonate d by MIKE and CA spectra. The loss of I^— and Br˙ from the molecular ions of 1 and 2, respectively, predominantly gives rise to the destabilized ions a, whereas loss of Cl˙ from [3]^{+ ˙} results in a mixture of ions a and c. The loss of CH₃˙ from [4]⁺˙ favours skeletal rearrangement leading to ions d. The characteristic reactions of the destabilized ions a are the loss of CO and elimination of methanol. The loss of CO is associated by a very large KER and non-statistical kinetic energy release (T₅₀ = 920 meV). Specific deuterium labelling experiments indicate that the α-carbomethoxy-α,α-dimethyl-methyl cations a rearrange via a 1,4-H shift into the carbonyl protonated methyl methacrylate c and eventually into the alkyl-O protonated methyl methacrylate before the loss of methanol. The hydrogen rearrangements exhibit a deuterium isotope effect indicating substantial energy barriers between the [C₅H₉O₂]⁺ isomers. Thus the destabilized carbenium ion a exists as a kinetically stable species within a potential energy well.     

The heats of formation of some protonated olefinic carbonyl compounds: [C5H9O]+ and [C4H7O2]+ ions

The proton transfer equilibrium reactions involving 3-penten-2-one, 3-methyl-3-buten-2-one, crotonic acid and methacrylic acid were carried out in an ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) spectrometer. The semiempirical method MNDO, used to estimate the heats of formation for 14 protonated [C₅H₉O]⁺ and [C₄H₇O₂]⁺ ions and the energetic aspect of the fragmentations of metastable [C₆H₁₂O]^+. and [C₆H₁₂O₂]^+. ions, leads to the conclusion that the ions corresponding to protonation at the carbonyl oxygen are the most stable. Thus the experimentally determined heats of formation of protonated olefinic carbonyl compounds can be attributed to the following structures: [CH₃COHCHCHCH₃]⁺ (δH_f = 490 KJ mol^?1), [CH₃COHC(CH₃)CH₂]⁺ (δH_f = 502 KJ mol^?1), [HOCOHCHCHCH₃]⁺ (δH_f = 330 KJ mol^?1) and [HOCOHC(CH₃)CH₂]⁺ (δH_f = 336 KJ mol^?1).     

Structure and formation of gaseous [C4H6O]+˙ ions: 1—The enolic ions [CH2C(OH)?CHCH2]+˙ and [CH2CH?CHCH(OH)]+˙ and their relationship with their keto counterparts

The [C₄H₆O]^+˙ ion of structure [CH₂?CHCH?CHOH]^+˙ (a) is generated by loss of C₄H₈ from ionized 6,6-dimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-ol. The heat of formation ΔH_f of [CH₂?CHCH?CHOH]^+˙ was estimated to be 736 kJ mol^?1. The isomeric ion [CH₂?C(OH)CH?CH₂]^+˙ (b) was shown to have ΔH_f, ? 761 kJ mol^?1, 54 kJ mol^?1 less than that of its keto analogue [CH₃COCH?CH₂]^+˙. Ion [CH₂?C(OH)CH?CH₂]^+˙ may be generated by loss of C₂H₄ from ionized hex-1-en-3-one or by loss of C₄H₈ from ionized 4,4-dimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-ol. The [C₄H₆O]^+˙ ion generated by loss of C₂H₄ from ionized 2-cyclohexen-1-ol was shown to consist of a mixture of the above enol ions by comparing the metastable ion and collisional activation mass spectra of [CH₂?CHCH?CHOH]^+˙ and [CH₂?C(OH)CH?CH₂]^+˙ ions with that of the above daughter ion. It is further concluded that prior to their major fragmentations by loss of CH₃˙ and CO, [CH₂?CHCH?CHOH]⁺˙ and [CH₂?C(OH)CH?CH₂]^+˙ do not rearrange to their keto counterparts. The metastable ion and collisional activation characteristics of the isomeric allenic [C₄H₆O]^+˙ ion [CH₂?C?CHCH₂OH]^+˙ are also reported.     

Rationalization of scrambling processes among [C2H3O]+ ions

Scrambling data for the three observed [C₂H₃O]⁺ isomers, namely [CH₃CO]⁺ (a), [CH₂COH]⁺ (b) and (c), are rationalized by using ab initio molecular orbital calculations. For ions a and c, processes leading to scrambling of the carbon atoms require substantially more energy than the threshold for decomposition to [CH₃]⁺ + CO. Accordingly, little or no carbon scrambling is predicted nor is any observed in the metastable dissociation of a and c. The observed carbon scrambling in b prior to metastable dissociation to [CH₃]⁺ + CO has previously been explained in terms of a mechanism involving the oxiranyl cation (c). However, this mechanism is shown to be unlikely because of the high energies involved. An alternative lower-energy pathway involving the intermediacy of protonated oxirene (h) is proposed. Such a mechanism is fully compatible with the experimental data.     

Fragmentation of doubly-protonated Pro-His-Xaa tripeptides: Formation of b 2 2+ ions

When ionized by electrospray from acidic solutions, the tripeptides Pro-His-Xaa (Xaa=Gly, Ala, Leu) form abundant doubly-protonated ions, [M+2H]²⁺. Collision-induced dissociation (CID) of these doubly-protonated species results, in part, in formation of b ₂ ²⁺ ions, which fragment further by loss of CO to form a ₂ ²⁺ ions; the latter fragment by loss of CO to form the Pro and His iminium [immonium is commonly used in peptide MS work] ions. Although larger doubly-charged b ions are known, this represents the first detailed study of b ₂ ²⁺ ions in CID of small doubly protonated peptides. The most abundant CID products of the studied doubly-protonated peptides arise mainly in charge separation involving two primary fragmentation channels, formation of the b ₂ /y ₁ pair and formation of the a ₁ /y ₂ pair. Combined molecular dynamics and density functional theory calculations are used to gain insight into the structures and fragmentation pathways of doubly-protonated Pro-His-Gly including the energetics of potential protonation sites, backbone cleavages, post-cleavage charge-separation reactions and the isomeric structures of b ₂ ²⁺ ions. Three possible structures are considered for the b ₂ ²⁺ ions: the oxazolone, diketopiperazine, and fused ring isomers. The last is formed by cleavage of the His-Gly amide bond on a pathway that is initiated by nucleophilic attack of one of the His side-chain imidazole nitrogens. Our calculations indicate the b ₂ ²⁺ ion population is dominated by the oxazolone and/or fused ring isomers.     

Association reactions of trimethylsilyl ions

Adduct ions, [M + (CH₃)₃Si]⁺, were produced by bimolecular association reactions of trimethylsilyl ions, (CH₃)₃Si⁺, with acetone, cydohexaoone, anisole, dimethyl ether, 2,5-dimethylfuran, 2-methylfuran and furan in ion cyclotron resonance experiments at 300 K and at pressures of ～10^?7 Torr (1 Torr = 133.3 Pa). The rate constants, k_a, for the association reactions varied from 100% to 2% of the collision rate constants, k_c. The rate constants were independent of pressure, except for furan. Measurements were also made of bond dissociation energies for these adduct ions, D[(CH₃)₃Si⁺–X], from equilibrium measurements. The association efficiency, k_a/k_c, increased with increasing bond dissociation energy and with increasing numbers of degrees of freedom, in qualitative agreement with theoretical predictions. Observations pertinent to the dependence of k_a on reactant temperature and relative kinetic energy are discussed. The possibility of determining ion-neutral complex binding energies from radiative association rate constants is considered.     

Mechanism of CO loss for protonated 1-indanone and isomeric [C9H9O]+ ions

In order to establish the mechanism of CO loss occurring during metastable decomposition of protonated 1-indanone, fragmentations of monocyclic [C₉H₉O]⁺ isomers have been studied. These ions of known structure were prepared by CI protonation and fragmentation of the corresponding acids chlorides. It is demonstrated that the wide component of the [MH? CO]⁺ metastable peak induced by protonated 1-indanone fragmentation is the result of fragmentation of the [C₆H₅CH₂CH₂CO]⁺ isomer ion.     

Metastable ion study of organosilicon compounds part II—hexamethyldisiloxane

Unimolecular reactions of the metastable silicenium ion (CH₃)₃SiOSi(CH₃)₂ ⁺ generated by dissociative ionization of bexamethyldisiloxane were investigated by mass-analysed ion kinetic energy (PUKE) Spectrometry. The characteristic fragmentations observed were losses of CH₄ and (CH₃)₂Si?O molecules. Complete scrambling of all methyl groups prior to these reactions was found by investigating the MIKE spectra of deuterium labelled analogues (CD₃)₃SiOSi(CH₃)₂⁺ and (CH₃)₃SiOSi(CD₃)₃⁺. The loss of methane was accompanied by a large kinetic energy release (T_0.5 = 482 meV). The MIKE spectra of silicenium ions were compared with those of their carbon analogues. The most predominant reaction of metastable (CH₃)₃COC(CH₃)₃⁺ ion was the loss of CH₂?C(C H₃)₂ leading to protonated acetone. Significant differences between the ion fragmention characteristics of silicon and carbon compounds were found.     

Internal reactions of ion–neutral complexes from some disubstituted protonated benzaldehydes and acetophenones

Protonated benzaldehydes ‘a’ and protonated acetophenones ‘b’, substituted by a methoxymethyl group, a hydroxy-methyl group and a mercaptomethyl group, respectively, in position 3, in addition to a methoxymethyl side chain at position 5, have been prepared by electron impact induced dissociation from the corresponding benzylic alcohols. The spontaneous fragmentations of metastable ions of ‘a’ and ‘b’ have been investigated with the aid of specifically deuterated derivatives. Large signals arc observed for the loss of methanol induced by a proton migration across the aromatic ring. The competing loss of H₂O and H₂S, respectively, from the second side chain is less abundant, in agreement with the smaller PA's of HO? and HS? groups. The elimination of HCOX and CH₃COX (X = OCH₃, OH, SH), respectively, from ‘a’ and ‘b’ is also observed. The label distributions for these reactions are in agreement with a mechanism corresponding to an internal reaction of [CHO] ⁺ and [CH₃CO] ⁺, respectively, with the functional group of the side chains in an intermediary ion–neutral complex. In addition, fragmentations are observed arising from reactions between the two side chains at positions 3 and 5. The D labelling proves specific reactions without any H/D exchange and thus reaction channels separated from the methanol loss. The results are explained by internal ion-molecule reactions in an intermediary ion-neutral complex of a methoxymethyl cation, a hydroxymethyl cation and a mercaptomethyl cation, respectively, formed by a protolytic bond cleavage of the side chains.     

Fragmentation Reactions of Methionine-Containing Protonated Octapeptides and Fragment Ions Therefrom: An Energy-Resolved Study

The fragmentation reactions of the MH⁺ ions as well as the b₇, a₇, and a₇* ions derived therefrom have been studied in detail for the octapeptides MAAAAAAA, AAMAAAAA, AAAAMAAA, and AAAAAAMA. Ionization was by electrospray using a QqToF mass spectrometer, which allowed a study of the evolution of the fragmentation channels as a function of the collision energy. Not surprisingly, the product ion mass spectra for the b₇ ions are independent of the original precursor sequence, indicating macrocyclization and reopening to the same mixture of protonated oxazolones prior to fragmentation. The results show that this sequence scrambling results in a distinct preference to place the Met residue in the C-terminal position of the protonated oxazolones. The a₇ and a₇* ions also produce product ion mass spectra independent of the original peptide sequence. The results for the a₇ ions indicate that fragmentation occurs primarily from an amide structure analogous to that observed for a₄ ions (Bythell et al. in J Am Chem Soc 132:14766–14779, 2010). Clearly, the rearrangement reaction they have proposed applies equally well to a_n ions as large as a₇. The major fragmentation modes of the MH⁺ ions at low collision energies produce b₇, b_6, and b₅ ions. As the collision energy is increased further fragmentation of these primary products produces, in part, non-direct sequence ions, which become prominent at lower m/z values, particularly for the peptides with the Met residue near the N-terminus.