Rearrangements and fragmentations of [C2H5S]+ ions

From deuterium labelling experiments it was concluded that metastable molecular ions of ethyl methyl sulfide lose a methyl radical with the formation of both [CH₃S?CH₂]⁺ amd [CH₃CH?SH]⁺˙ The fragmentation reactions of metastable ions generated with these structure are losses of C₂H₂, H₂S and CH₄. These reactoins and the preceding isomerizations have also been studied by means of deuterium labelling. From the results it is concluded that the three fragmentation reactions most probably occur from ions with a C? C? S skeleton. Appearance energy measurements for ions generated with the two structures above and all give rise to the same ΔH_f value for these three isomeric forms. Ab initio molecular orbitals calculations confirm that these three ions fortuitously have very similar heats of formation. A potential energy diagram rationalizing the isomerizations and the principal fragmentation reaction is presented.     

The ions [CH3S]+, [C2H5S]+ and [CH3O]+ formed by electron-impact

The mass spectra of deuterated species shows that both the isomeric ions [CH₂?SH]⁺ and [CH₃? S]⁺ are formed in the ratio 2:1 from CH₃SH; the ions [CH₃CH?SH]⁺ and [CH₃CH₂S]⁺ in the ratio 0·8:1 from CH₃CH₂SH; and [CH₂?OH]⁺ and [CH₃? O]⁺ in the ratio 6·7:1 from methanol. The heats of formation of [CH₃S]⁺ and [C₂H₅S]⁺ are of the order of 222 and 203 Kcal.mole^?1 respectively. The isomeric ions cannot be distinguished on thermodynamic grounds.     

Collisional activation study of cyclic polysulfides

Cyclic polysulfides isolated from higher plants, model compounds and their electron impact induced fragment ions have been investigated by various mass spectrometric methods. These species represent three sets of sulfur compounds: C₃H₆S_x (x=1?6), C₂H₄S_x (x=1?5) and CH₂S_x (x=1?4). Three general fragmentation mechanisms are discussed using metastable transitions: (1) the unimolecular loss of structural parts (CH₂S, CH₂ and S_x); (2) fragmentations which involve ring opening reactions, hydrogen migrations and recyclizations of the product ions ([M? CH₃]⁺, [M? CH₃S]⁺, [M? SH]⁺ and [M? CS₂]^+˙); and (3) complete rearrangements preceding the fragmentations ([M? S₂H]⁺ and [M? C₂H₄]^+˙). The cyclic structures of [M]^+˙ and of specific fragment ions have been investigated by comparing the collisional activation spectra of model ions. On the basis of these results the cyclic ions decompose via linear intermediates and then recyclizations of the product ions occur. The stabilities of the fragment ions have been determined by electron efficiency vs electron energy curves.     

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.     

Potential energy profiles for the unimolecular reactions of [C3H7S]+ Ions

Appearance energies were measured for several types of [C₃H₇S]⁺ ions. From these appearance energy values the heats of formation of the ions were calculated. For the isomeric ions that could not be generated in the mass spectrometer, the heats of formation were estimated by means of the isodesmic substitution method. Transition state energies for the decomposition to C₂H₄ and [CH₃S]⁺ along two pathways were determined from the appearance energies of these ions. Using the energy values, potential energy diagrams were constructed for the rearrangements and decompositions of the [C₃H₇S]⁺ ions. A supplementary ¹³C Clabelling experiment is described for the determination of the rearrangement pathway of [CH₃CH₂CH?SH]⁺ ions prior to decomposition.     

A tandem mass spectrometry study of the gas phase RSC6H5Cr+L (R = H,C6H5; L = arene) and C6H5SSC6H5Cr+ ions

Ion-molecule reactions of chromium containing ions with arylsulfides have been studied in the gas phase and their products have been characterized by tandem mass spectrometry. C₆H₅SH and (C₆H₅)₂S react as typical aromatic compounds and give rise to Cr⁺C₆H₅SR] and RC₆H₅Cr⁺QH₅SR′ [R = H, CH₃, CH(CH₃)₂; R′ = H, C₆H₅] ions. Metastable ion mass spectra of the latter species show that the metal is more strongly bound to diphenylsulfide than to alkylbenzenes. C₆H₅SSC₆H₅ reacts with chromium-containing ions to form only Cr⁺(C₆H₅SSC₆H₅). The decomposition characteristics of this ion and, in particular, the presence of a recovery signal in the neutralization-reionization mass spectrum are in keeping with the formation of a 1,2-dithia[2]cyclophane complex ion, which rearranges into a structurel(s) that contains Cr?S bond(s). No evidence was found for metal atom insertion into S?S, C?S, or S?H bonds.     

Internal energy effects on metastable characteristics. The structure of [C3H7O]+ ions

The effect of changes in the internal energy distribution of the fragmenting ion on the ratio of metastable ion intensities for two competing fragmentation reactions has been investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Model calculations have shown that if the competing reactions have significantly different activation energies the metastable intensity ratio does depend on the internal energy distribution although large changes are necessary before the ratio changes by more than a factor of two. Experimentally the metastable characteristics of [C₃H₇O]⁺ ions of nominal structures [CH₃CH₂O⁺?CH₂] (I), [(CH₃)₂C?O⁺H] (II), [CH₃CH₂CH?O⁺H] (III) and [CH₃O⁺?CHCH₃] (IV) have been examined. For each structure the metastable characteristics are found to be distinctive and independent of changes in the internal energy distribution of the fragmenting ion where these changes result from altering the precursor of the [C₃H₇O]⁺ ions. It is suggested that these internal energy changes can be estimated from the fraction of [C₃H₇O]⁺ ions which fragment in the ion-source. It is concluded that structures I to IV represent stable and distinct ionic structures.     

Characterization of five [C4H7O]+ Ion structures. Fragmentation of the 2-pentanone molecular ion

The [C₄H₇0]⁺ ions [CH₂?CH? C(?OH)CH₃]⁺ (1), [CH₃CH?CH? C(?OH)H]⁺ (2), [CH₂?C(CH₃)C(?OH)H]⁺ (3), [Ch₃CH₂CH₂C?O]⁺ (4) and [(CH₃)₂CHC?O]⁺ (5) have been characterized by their collision-induced dissociation (CID) mass spectra and charge stripping mass spectra. The ions 1–3 were prepared by gas phase protonation of the relevant carbonyl compounds while 4 and 5 were prepared by dissociative electron impact ionization of the appropriate carbonyl compounds. Only 2 and 3 give similar spectra and are difficult to distinguish from each other; the remaining ions can be readily characterized by either their CID mass spectra or their charge stripping mass spectra. The 2-pentanone molecular ion fragments by loss of the C(1) methyl and the C(5) methyl in the ratio 60:40 for metastable ions; at higher internal energies loss of the C(1) methyl becomes more favoured. Metastable ion characteristics, CID mass spectra and charge stripping mass spectra all show that loss of the C(1) methyl leads to formation of the acyl ion 4, while loss of the C(5) methyl leads to formation of protonated vinyl methyl ketone (1). These results are in agreement with the previously proposed potential energy diagram for the [C₅H₁₀O]⁺˙ system.     

Alkane elimination from ionized alkanols

The energetics, metastable characteristics and daughter ion structures for the loss of small alkane molecules from ionized 2-propanol, 2-butanol and 3-pentanol have been examined in detail. [2-Propanol]^+˙ ions lose CH₄ to generate the keto and enol forms of [C₂H₄O]^+˙ and the same daughter ions are produced by loss of C₂H₆ from [2-butanol]^+˙. Ionized 3-pentanol does not lose CH₄ but readily eliminates C₂H₆ to produce the enol ion [CH₃CH?CHOH]^+˙. The last reaction was shown to proceed by a simple 1,2 elimination mechanism in the μs time-frame; isotope effects are also discussed.     

Rearrangements and fragmentations of [C2H5S]+ ions

[C₂H₅S]⁺ ions (m/e 61) with different initial structures were generated in the mass spectrometer from twelve precursor ions. Abundance ratios of competing metastable ion decompositions were used to determine whether these ions decompose through the same or different reaction channels. It was concluded that all [C₂H₅S]⁺ ions isomerize to a common structure or mixture of structures prior to decomposition in the first field free region. From ¹³C labelling experiments it was concluded that [C₂H₅S]⁺ ions generated from the molecular ions of 2-propanethiol-2-[¹³C], partially rearrange to a symmetrical structure before decomposition to [CHS]⁺ and CH₄, whereas in [C₂H₅S]⁺ ions generated from the the molecular ions of 1,2-bis-(thiomethoxy-[¹³C]) ethane, the two carbon atoms become fully equivalent before CH₄ loss occurs.     

Characterization of isomeric [CH5P]+˙ and [C2H7P]+˙ radical cations and some [C2H6P]+ phosphonium ions in the gas phase by their collisional activation spectra

Collisional activation spectra were used to characterize isomeric ion structures for [CH₅P]^+˙ and [C₂H₇P]^+˙ radical cations and [C₂H₆P]⁺ even-electron ions. Apart from ionized methylphosphane, [CH₃PH₂]^+˙, ions of structure [CH₂PH₃]^+˙ appear to be stable in the gas phase. Among the isomeric [C₂H₇P]^+˙ ions stable ion structures [CH₂PH₂CH₃]^+˙ and [CH₂CH₂PH₃]^+˙/[CH₃CHPH₃]^+˙ are proposed as being generated by appropriate dissociative ionization reactions of alkyl phosphanes. At least three isomeric [C₂H₆]⁺ ions appear to exist, of which \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} - \mathop {\rm P}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H = CH}_{\rm 2} $\end{document} could be identified positively.     

Loss of methyl from ionized 2-hydroxy-1,3-butadiene

The loss of methyl from unstable, metastable and collisionally activated [CH₂?CH? C(OH)?CH₂]⁺˙ ions (1⁺˙) was examined by means of deuterium and ¹³C labelling, appearance energy measurements and product identification. High-energy, short-lived 1⁺˙ lose methyl groups incorporating the original enolic methene (C(1)) and the hydroxyl hydrogen atom (H(0)). The eliminations of C(1)H(1)H(1)H(4) and C(4)H(4)H(4)H(0) are less frequent in high-energy ions. Metastable 1⁺˙ eliminate mainly C(1)H(1)H(1)H(4), the elimination being accompanied by incomplete randomization of the five carbon-bound hydrogen atoms. The resulting [C₃H₃O]⁺ ions have been identified as the most stable CH₂?CH? CO⁺ species. The appearance energy for the loss of methyl from 1 was measured as AE[C₃H₃O]⁺ = 10.47 ± 0.05 eV. The critical energy for 1⁺˙ → [C₃H₃O]⁺ + CH₃˙ is assessed as E_c ? 173 kJ mol^?1. Reaction mechanisms are proposed and discussed.     

Structure and fragmentation mechanism of [C3H7S]+ ions

From a comparison of the metastable ion bundance ratios for loss of C₂H₄ and H₂S from [C₃H₇S]⁺ ions in a series of alkyl thio ethers and thiols it was concluded that in most compunds these ion s isomerize to a common structure prior to decomposition in the first field free region. The mechanism for C₂H₄ loss from the [C₃H₇S]⁺ ion gen erated from CH₃SCH₂CH₃ was investigated in detail using ¹³C and ²H labelling. A rearrangement with formation of a cyclic intermediate prior to the decompistion reaction is proposed. The fragmentation is preceded by extensive hydrogen scrabling. The carbon atoms of the expelled C₂H₄ molecule are those of the CH₂?CH₃ moiety.     

Structures and stabilities of [C3H3O]+ ions in the gas phase: A molecular orbital study

The relative energies of 11 [C₃H₃O]⁺ ions are calculated by different molecular orbital methods (MINDO/3, MNDO, ab initio with 3-21G and 4-31G* basis set and configuration interaction). The four most stable structures are: a ([CH₂?CH? CO]⁺), b c ([CH?C? CHOH]⁺) and d ([CH₂?C?COH]⁺); their relative energies at the CI/4-31G*//3-21G level are 0, 117, 171 and 218 kJ mol^?1, respectively. The isomerizations c→[CH?CH? CHO]⁺→[CH₂?C? CHO]⁺→ a and dissociations into [C₂H₃]⁺+CO and [HCO]⁺+C₂H₂ are explored. The calculated potential energy profile reveals that the energy-determining step is the 1,3-H migration c→[CH?CH? CHO]⁺. This explains the value of unity of the branching ratio and the spread of kinetic energy released for the two dissociation channels.     

Four-centred rearrangements in the mass spectra of aliphatic ethers

The [CH₃O?CHCH₃]⁺ ions observed in the mass spectra of ethers of formula CH₃OCH (CH₃)R(R = H or alkyl) undergo two rearrangement fragmentation reactions to form [C₂H₅]⁺ and [CH₂OH]⁺. The scope of the rearrangements has been investigated and it is shown that enlargement of the alkyl group on either side of the ether linkage leads to alternative fragmentation routes. From a study of metastable intensities it is concluded that the fragmentations probably occur directly from the [CH₃O?CHCH₃]⁺ structure through four centred rearrangements rather than through the intermediacy of the [C₂H₅O?CH₂]⁺ ion.     

Ionization and appearance potentials in organic chemistry. I—energetic aspects of the mass spectra of stereoisomeric 4-substituted N-alkyl-2-methyldecahydroquinol-4-ols

The ionization potentials for the stereoisomers of trans-fused 1,2-dimethyl- and 1-ethyl-2-methyl-4-R-decahydroquinol-4-ols (R?C?CH, CH?CH₂ or C₂H₅) and the appearance potentials for the [M–CH₃]⁺ and [M–C₂H₅]⁺ ions (loss of 2-CH₃ and 4-C₂H₅ groups potential, respectively) were measured by using the electron impact method. The ionization and appearance potential for [M–CH₃]⁺ are always lower for the isomers with the axial 2-CH₃ group. For the C-2 epimers, the difference between the appearance potentials for the [M–CH₃]⁺ ion values is likely to be equal to the enthalpy differences between the ground states of the epimers and the dissociation energy differences between the axial and equatorial C₂–CH₃ bonds. The appearance potentials for [M–C₂H₅]⁺ for the C-4 epimers possessing the 4-C₂H₅ group were very similar. At the same time, the appearance potentials for the [M–CH₃]⁺ ions were lower for less stable epimers which had an axial 4-C₂H₅ group.     

Mass spectrometric investigation of stereosomeric 1,2-dimethyl-4-substituted decahydroquinol-4-ol N-oxides. Concerning the configuration of the asymmetric nitrogen atom

The main fragmentation pathways of the N-1, C-2 and C-4 stereoisomers of the 1,2-dimethyl-4-R-transdecahydroquinoline-4-ol N-oxides (R=C?CH, CH?CH₂ and C₂H₅) under electron impact are discussed. The correlation between the mass spectrometric chromatographic behaviour and the configuration of polar groups in the N-oxides examined is discussed. The mass spectra of the N-1 stereoisomers may be subdivided into two groups, depending only on the orientation of N→O group and not of the 4-OH group. The spectra of N-oxides with the axial N-oxide group reveal less intense ions and much more intense [M? CH₃]⁺, [M? O]⁺, [M? OH]⁺ and ions, whereas in the spectra of their equatorial epimers the abundance of the ions exceeds the intensities of the latter ions.     

Structure and mechanism of fragmentation of [C2H5O]+

The decomposition reactions of [C₂H₅O]⁺ ions produced by dissociative electron-impact ionization of 2-propanol have been studied, using ¹³C and deuterium labeling coupled with metastable intensity studies. In addition, the fragmentation reactions following protonation of appropriately labeled acetaldehydes and ethylene oxides with [H₃]⁺ or [D₃]⁺ have been investigated. In both studies particular attention has been paid to the reactions leading to [CHO]⁺, [C₂H₃]⁺ and [H₃O]⁺. In both the electron-impact-induced reactions and the chemical ionization systems the fragmentation of [C₂H₅O]⁺ to both [H₃O]⁺ and [C₂H₃]⁺ proceeds by a single mechanism. For each case the reaction involves a mechanism in which the hydrogen originally bonded to oxygen is retained in the oxygen containing fragment while the four hydrogens originally bonded to carbon become indistinguishable. The fragmentation of [C₂H₅O]⁺ to produce [CHO]⁺ proceeds by a number of mechanisms. The lowest energy route involves complete retention of the α carbon and hydrogen while a higher energy route proceeds by a mechanism in which the carbons and the attached hydrogens become indistinguishable. A third distinct mechanism, observed in the electron-impact spectra only, proceeds with retention of the hydroxylic hydrogen in the product ion. Detailed fragmentation mechanisms are proposed to explain the results. It is suggested that the [C₂H₅O]⁺ ions formed by protonation of acetaldehyde or ionization of 2-propanol are produced initially with the structure [CH₃CH?\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + $\end{document}H] (a), but isomerize to [CH₂?CH? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + $\end{document}H₂] (e) prior to decomposition to [C₂H₃]⁺ or [H₃O]⁺. The results indicate that the isomerization a → e does not proceed directly, possibly because it is symmetry forbidden, but by two consecutive [1,2] hydrogen shifts. A more general study of the electron-impact mass spectrum of 2-propanol has been made and the fragmentation reactions proceeding from the molecular ion have been identified.     

Selective reagents in chemical ionization mass spectrometry: Tetramethylsilane with ethers

Chemical ionization mass spectra of several ethers obtained with He/(CH₃)₄Si mixtures as the reagent gases contain abundant [M + 73]⁺ adduct ions which identify the relative molecular mass. For the di-n-alkyl ethers, these [M + 73]⁺ ions are formed by sample ion/sample molecule reactions of the fragment ions, [M + 73 ? C_nH_2n]⁺ and [M + 73 ? 2CnH_2n]⁺. Small amounts of [M + H]⁺ ions are also formed, predominantly by proton transfer reactions of the [M + 73 ? 2CnH_2n]⁺ or [(CH₃)₃SiOH₂]⁺ ions with the ethers. The di-s-alkyl ethers give no [M + 73] ⁺ ions, but do give [M + H]⁺ ions, which allow the determination of the relative molecular mass. These [M + H]⁺ ions result primarily from proton transfer reactions from the dominant fragment ion, [(CH₃)₃SiOH₂]⁺ with the ether. Methyl phenyl ether gives only [M + 73]⁺ adduct ions, by a bimolecular addition of the trimethylsilyl ion to the ether, not by the two-step process found for the di-n-alkyl ethers. Ethyl phenyl ether gives [M + 73]⁺ by both the two-step process and the bimolecular addition. Although the mass spectra of the alkyl etherr are temperature-dependent, the sensitivities of the di-alkyl ethers and ethyl phenyl ether are independent of temperature. However, the sensitivity for methyl phenyl ether decreases significantly with increasing temperature.     

Study of ion structures produced by the reaction of 2-propyl cations with water and methanol; covalently bound v. Hydrogen-bridged adducts

In contrast to an earlier report,¹ the collisonally induced dissociation of protonated 2-propanol and t-butyl alcohol yields spectra that are indistinguishable from those of the corresponding [C₃H₇/H₂O]⁺ and [C₄H₉/H₂O]⁺ ions generated by the (formal) gas phase addition reactions in a high pressure ion source of [s-C₃H₇]⁺ and [t-C₄H₉]⁺ ions with the n-donor H₂O. Similarly, [s-C₃H₇/CH₃OH]⁺ ions generated by both gas phase protonation of n- and s-propyl methyl ethers and addition reactions of [C₃H₇]⁺ to CH₃OH display mode-of-generation-independent collisionally induced dissociation characteristics. However, analysis of the unimolecular dissociation (loss of propene) of the [C₃H₇/CH₃OH]⁺ system, including a number of its deuterium, ¹³C- and ¹⁸O-labelled isotopomers, supports the idea that prior to unimolecular dissociation, covalently bound [C₃H₇- O(H)CH₃]⁺ ions intercovert with hydrogen-bridged adduct ions, analogous to the behaviour of the distonic ethene-, propene- and ketene-H₂O radical cations.