A field ionization and collisionally activated dissociation/charge stripping study of some [C9H10]+˙ ions

The extent of isomerization of [C₉H₁₀]^+˙ ions, with lifetimes of approximately 10^?11 and 10^?6 s has been investigated using field ionization, collisionally activated dissociation and charge stripping techniques. The [C₉H₁₀]^+˙ ions which were investigated included the molecular ions of α-methylstyrene, β-methylstyrene, o-methylstyrene, m-methylstyrene, p-methylstyrene, indan, cyclopropylbenzene, allylbenzene and the product of water loss from 3-phenylpropanol. The field ionization spectra of all the C₉H₁₀ hydrocarbons were different indicating that isomerization to a common ion structure had not occurred to a measurable extent for ions with lifetimes of approximately 10^?11 s. Collisionally activated dissociation and charge stripping results indicated that most of the [C₉H₁₀]^+˙ ions continued to maintain unique ion structures (or mixtures of structures) at ion lifetimes of 10^?6 s. Possible exceptions are the [C₉H₁₀]^+˙ ions from allylbenzene and cyclopropylbenzene which gave indistinguishable collisionally activated dissociation and charge stripping spectra.     

A mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry investigation of the nature of [C10H10]+˙, [C9H7]+ and [C10H8]+˙ gas phase ions

Additional evidence for the rearrangement of the 1- and 3-phenylcyclobutene radical cations, their corresponding ring-opened 1,3-butadiene ions and 1,2-dihydronaphthalene radical cations to methylindenetype ions has been obtained for the decomposing ions by mass analysed ion kinetic energy spectroscopy (MIKES). The nature of the [C₉H₇]⁺ and [C₁₀H₈]^+˙ daughter ions arising from the electron ionization induced fragmentation of these [C₁₀H₁₀]^+˙ precursors has been investigated by collisionally activated dissociation (CAD), collisional ionization and ion kinetic energy spectroscopy. The [C₉H₇]⁺ produced from the various C₁₀H₁₀ hydrocarbons are of identical structure or an identical mixture of interconverting structures. These ions are similar in nature to the [C₉H₇]⁺ generated from indene by low energy electron ionization. The [C₁₀H₈]^+˙ ions also possess a common structure, which is presumably that of the maphthalene radical cation.     

Formation and structure of [C8H8O]+˙ ions,generated from gas phase ions of phenyl-cyclopropylcarbinol and 1-phenyl-1-(hydroxymethyl)cyclopropane

The structure and formation of [C₈H₈O]^+. ions generated from phenylcyclopropylcarbinol and 1-phenyl-1-hydroxymethylcyclopropane upon electron impact, have been studied using kinetic energy release measurements, by determination of ionization and appearance energies and by collisional activation. It is shown that the non-decomposing [C₈H₈O]^+˙ ions have exclusively the structure of the enol ion of phenylacetaldehyde, although it is less stable than the enol ion of acetophenone by about 45 kJ mol^?1. This has been interpreted as an indication that the [C₈H₈O]^+˙ ions from phenylcyclopropylcarbinol are formed by an attack of either the phenyl ring or the hydroxyl group upon the C-1? C-2 (or C-1? C-3) bond of the cyclopropane ring under a simultaneous expulsion of ethene and migration of the attacking group to the C-1 position. The [C₈H₈O]^+˙ ion from 1-phenyl-1-(hydroxymethyl)cyclopropane is formed by opening of the cyclopropane ring via a benzylic cleavage. A kinetically controlled hydrogen shift in the resulting ring opened ion prior to or during ethene loss then leads to the formation of [C₈H₈O]^+˙ ions which have the structure of the enol ion of phenylacetaldehyde.     

Collision-induced dissociation of negative ions in the gas phase: [Aryl S]−, [aryl SO]− and [aryl SO2]−

Collision-induced dissociation of the ions [ArS]^?, [ArSO]^? and [ArSO₂]^? has uncovered a rich and varied ion chemistry. The major fragmentations of [ArS]^? are complex and occur without prior ring hydrogen scrambling: for example, [C₆H₅S]^?→[C₂HS]^? and [HS]^?; [p-CD₃C₆H₄S]^?→[C₆H₄S]^?˙, [CD₃C₄S]^? and [C₂HS]^?. In contrast, all decompositions of [C₆H₅CH₂S]^? are preceded by specific benzylic and phenyl hydrogen interchange reactions. [ArSO₂]^? and [ArSO₂]^? ions undergo rearrangement, e.g. [C₆H₅SO]^?→[C₆H₅O]^? and [C₆H₅S]^?; [C₆H₅SO₂]^?→[C₆H₅O] ^?. The ion [C₆H₅CH₂SO]^? eliminates water, this decomposition is preceded by benzylic and phenyl hydrogen exchange.     

[M + 11]+˙ and [M + 11]−˙ ions in the nitrogen positive and negative ion chemical ionization mass spectra of aromatic amines

The N₂ negative ion chemical ionization (NICI) mass spectra of aniline, aminonaphthalenes, aminobiphenyls and aminoanthracenes show an unexpected addition appearing at [M + 11]^?˙. This addition is also observed in the N₂ positive chemical ionization (PCI) mass spectra. An ion at [M – 15]^? is found in the NICI spectra of aminoaromatics such as aniline, 1- and 2-aminonaphthalene and 1- and 2-aminoanthracene. Ion formation was studied using labeled reagents, variation of ion source pressure and temperature and examination of ion chromatograms. These experiments indicate that the [M + 11]^?˙, [M – 15]^?˙ and [M + 11]^+˙ ions result from the ionization of analytes altered by surface-assisted reactions. Experiments with ¹⁵N₂, [¹⁵N] aniline, [2,3,4,5,6-²H₅] aniline and [¹³C₆] aniline show that the [M + 11]^?˙ ion corresponds to [M + N – 3H]^?˙. The added nitrogen originates from the N₂ buffer gas and the addition occurs with loss of one ring and two amino group hydrogens. Fragmentation patterns in the N₂ PCI mass spectrum of aniline suggest that the neutral product of the surface-assisted reaction is 1,4-dicyanobuta-1,3-diene. Experiments with diamino-substituted aromatics show analogous reactions resulting in the formation of [M – 4H]^?˙ ions for aromatics with ortho-amino groups. Experiments with methylsubstituted aminoaromatics indicate that unsubstituted sites ortho to the amino group facilitate nitrogen addition, and that methyl groups provide additional sites for nitrogen addition.     

Loss of methyl from [H2CC(OH)?CH3]+˙ ions prepared by electron impact ionization of unstable 2-hydroxypropene

Unstable 2-hydroxpropene was prepared by retro-Diels-Alder decomposition of 5-exo-methyl-5-norbornenol at 800°C/2 × 10^?6 Torr. The ionization energy of 2-hydroxypropene was measured as 8.67±0.05 eV. Formation of [C₂H₃O]⁺ and [CH₃]⁺ ions originating from different parts of the parent ion was examined by means of ¹³C and deuterium labelling. Threshold-energy [H₂C?C(OH)? CH₃]^+˙ ions decompose to CH₃CO⁺+CH₃^˙ with appearance energy AE(CH₃CO⁺) = 11.03 ± 0.03 eV. Higher energy ions also form CH₂?C?OH⁺ + CH₃ with appearance energy AE(CH₂?C?OH⁺) = 12.2–12.3 eV. The fragmentation competes with hydrogen migration between C(1) and C(3) in the parent ion. [C₂H₃O]⁺ ions containing the original methyl group and [CH₃]⁺ ions incorporating the former methylene and the hydroxyl hydrogen atom are formed preferentially, compared with their corresponding counterparts. This behaviour is due to rate-determining isomerization [H₂C?C(OH)? CH₃]^+˙ →[CH₃COCH₃]^+˙, followed by asymmetrical fragmentation of the latter ions. Effects of internal energy and isotope substitution are discussed.     

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.     

The formation of [CH5O]+ and ions from the molecular ions of isobutyl alcohol

On the basis of field ionization kinetic and deuterium labelling experiments, it is shown that the molecular ions of isobutyl alcohol generate [CH₅O]⁺ ions at 10^?11 s via a 1,4-shift of a hydrogen atom from one of the methyl groups to the oxygen atom, followed by a 1,2-elimination of protonated methanol with a hydrogen atom of the other methyl group. At times > 10^?11 s two distinct interchange processes between hydrogen atoms appear to compete with this reaction, as shown from field ionization kinetic experiments and metastable decompositions. Ion cyclotron resonance experiments on the long-lived [CH₅O]⁺ ions further demonstrate that they are protonated methanol ions. Arguments are put forward that the ions, generated by a specific 1,3-elimination of a molecule of water from metastable decomposing molecular ions, have an isobutene structure.     

Charge stripping mass spectra: A method for identifying isomeric [C5H8]+˙ and [C3H6]+˙ ions

Charge stripping (collisional ionization) mass spectra are reported for isomeric [C₅H₈]⁺˙ and [C₃H₆]⁺˙ ions. The results provide the first method for adequately quantitatively determining the structures and abundances of these species when they are generated as daughter ions. Thus, loss of H₂O from the molecular ions of cyclopentanol and pentanal is shown to produce mixtures of ionized penta-1,3- and -1,4-dienes. Pent-1-en-3-ol generates [penta-1,3-diene]⁺˙. [C₃H₆]⁺˙ ions from ionized butane, methylpropane and 2-methylpropan-1-ol are shown to have the [propene]⁺˙ structure, whereas [cyclopropane]⁺˙ is produced from ionized tetrahydrofuran, penta-1,3-diene and pent-1-yne.     

Ion-neutral complex-mediated hydrogen exchange in ionized n-butanol: A mechanism for ‘non-specific’ hydrogen migrations

Water elimination from ionized n-butanol reflects near randomization of all hydrogens in ions decomposing after ～10^?5s. This probably takes place in ion-neutral complexes by formation of a cyclobutane ion–H₂O complex and/or rearrangement within [C₄H₈]⁺˙ in open-chain [C₄H₈⁺˙? H₂O] complexes, in either case accompanied by hydrogen exchange between water and open-chain hydrocarbon moieties. Extensive hydrogen rearrangements in which restraints on conventional transition-state ring size have little apparent influence may generally be ion–neutral complex-mediated processes.     

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.     

The distonic ions HO+CHCH2C˙H2 and CH3C(O+H)CH2C˙H2

The distonic ions HO⁺?CHCH₂C^˙H₂ (1) and CH₃C(?O⁺H)CH₂C^˙H₂ (2) were directly generated, their decompositions characterized and their appearance energies determined by photoionization. Heats of formation derived from the appearance energies were 757 kJ mol^?1 for 1 and 692 kJ mol^?1 for 2. Deuterium labeling demonstrates that both ions decompose at low energies in the same ways as their isomers with the same skeletal structures, consistent with proposals that 1 and 2 are intermediates in the decompositions of those systems. Surprisingly, the values of the translational energy releases accompanying the formation of CH₃CO⁺ and C₂H₅CO⁺ from 2 appear to be inversely proportional to the available excess energy. The 1,2-H-shift RC(?O⁺H)CH₂C˙H₂ → RC(?O₊H)C˙HCH₃ is compared to the corresponding, non-occurring 1,2-H-shift in alkyl free radicals.     

Mass spectrometry of aralkyl compounds with a functional group–X A reinvestigation of the structure of the [C8H9]+-ion from 1-phenylethylbromide and of the molecular ion [C8H8]+˙ from styrene by use of 13C labelling

Specific ¹³C-labelling in the side-chain of 1-phenylethylbromide and of styrene shows that it is not necessary to assume eight-membered ring structures for the [C₈H₉]⁺- and [C₈H₈]⁺⁺˙-ions to explain the almost complete randomization of all hydrogen atoms, as might be concluded from D-labelling data. It is now suggested that the eight-membered ring is predominantly present in [C₈H₉]⁺ and [C₈H₈]⁺˙ ions of low internal energy. In particular this appears to apply to styrene, which generates a cyclooctatetraene molecular ion with the original side-chain carbon atoms still linked together, as shown by ^13C-labelling.     

Fragmentation de la Méthyl-2 Indolizine sous Impact Electronique: perte de H˙ à partir de l'Ion Moléculaire; perte de HCN à partir de l'Ion [M?H˙]+

The origin of the hydrogen radical lost in the ionization chamber from the molecular ion of 2-methylindolizine has been studdied by examination of the spectra of four specifically deuterated species. Hydrogen loss involves preferentially a hydrogen from the methyl substituent but also one of the hydrogens of either ring, especially those of the 5-membered ring. The HCN elimination from the metastable [M? H^˙]⁺ ions was studied using a linked scan method; the results are consistent with loss of identity of all the hydrogen atoms of the precursor ion, which implies an extensive reorganization prior to fragmentation.     

A study of the structures of decomposing and non-decomposing [C4H5N]+˙ ions formed from different neutral species

[C₄H₅N]^+˙ ions have been generated from eleven neutral species. From a study of their metastable transitions and the translational energy released in the fragmentation in which C₂H₂ is lost, it is concluded that [C₄H₅N]^+˙ ions with sufficient energy to decompose do so from a common structure or mixture of structures when they are generated from crotonitrile, allyl cyanide, cyclopropyl cyanide, methacrylontrile, pyrrole, 2-, 3- and 4-hydroxypyridines and 2-aminopyridine. The [C₄H₅N]^+˙ ions formed from allyl isocyanide decompose from a different structure and those given by cyclopropyl isocyanide appear to decompose from a mixture of the two structures. Non-decomposing [C₄H₅N]^+˙ ions were investigated by means of their collision induced decomposition spectra using a B/E linked scan. Six different structures or mixtures of structures are suggested to explain these observations.     

Mass spectra of aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and their dimethyl esters: Cyclic structures for the [M − H2O]+˙ ions from the diacids and [M − MeOH]+˙ ions from the dimethyl esters

Methyl 2-oxocycIoalkane carboxylate structures are proposed lor the [M ? MeOH]^+˙ ions from dimethyl adipate, pimelate, suberate and azelate. This proposal is based on a comparison of the metastable ion mass spectra and the kinetic energy releases for the major fragmentation reaction of these species with the same data for the molecular ions of authentic cyclic β-keto esters. The mass spectra of α,α,α′,α′-d₄-pimelic acid and its dimethyl ester indicate that the α-hydrogens are involved only to a minor extent in the formation of [M ? ROH]^+˙ and [M ? 2ROH]^+˙ ions, while these α-hydrogens are involved almost exclusively in the loss of ROH from the [M ? RO˙]⁺ ions (R = H or CH₃). The molecules XCO(CH₂)₇COOMe (X = OH, Cl) form abundant ions in their mass spectra with the same structure as the [M ? 2MeOH]^+˙ ions from dimethyl azelate.     

Unimolecular reactions of [C5H10O]+ ˙ radical cations derived from4-penten-1-ol

The reactions of metastable [C₅H₁₀O]^{+ ˙} radical cations produced by ionization of 4-penten-1-ol are reported and discussed. These [C₅H₁₀O]^{+ ˙} species undergo mainly ethyl radical loss, with smaller contributions of methyl radical and water expulsion. ²H-Labelling studies reveal different specificities of hydrogen selection in these three fragmentations. The behaviour of these [C₅H₁₀O]^{+ ˙} ions is compared to those reported previously for isomeric radical cations containing linear alkenyl chains and a terminal hydroxyl group.     

Water loss from [C5H10O]+˙ isomers: A reassessment

From a detailed analysis of metastable peak shapes it is proposed, contrary to earlier conclusions, that the loss of H₂O from the molecular ions of the C₅H₁₀O isomers cyclopentanol, pentanal and pent-1-en-3-ol yields only [penta-1,3-diene]^+˙ in the metastable time frame. Therefore the composite metastable peak for this process arises from two competing reaction channels yielding a common daughter ion. The observation that the first two isomers also produce [penta-1,4-diene]^+˙ as a daughter ion is attributed to a high energy (ion source) reaction which contributes negligibly to first field free region fragmentations.     

A study of [C7H8]+˙ and [C7H8]2+ ions formed from different precursor molecules

On the basis of unimolecular and collisionally activated decompositions, as well as their charge stripping behaviour, [C₇H₈]⁺˙ and [C₇H₈]²⁺ ions from a variety of precursors have been studied. In particular, structural characteristics of molecular ions of toluene, cycloheptatriene, norborna-2,5-diene and quadricyclane have been compared to those of [C₇H₈]⁺˙ and [C₇H₈]²⁺ rearrangement fragment ions obtained from n-butylbenzene, 2-phenylethanol and n-pentylbenzene. Severe interferences from [C₇H₇]^2+˙ ion fragmentations have been observed and rationalized.     

Isomeric [C,H3,N,O]+˙ ions and their neutral counterparts

The isomeric ions [H₂NC(H)O]⁺˙, [H₂NCOH]⁺˙, [H₃CNO]⁺˙ and [H₂CNOH]⁺˙ were examined in the gas phase by mass spectrometry. Ab initio molecular orbital theory was used to calculate the relative stabilities of [H₂NC(H)O]⁺˙, [H₂NCOH]⁺˙, [H₃NCO]⁺˙ and their neutral counterparts. Theory predicted [H₂NC(H)O]⁺˙ to be the most stable ion. [H₂NCOH]⁺˙ ions were generated via a 1,4-hydrogen transfer in [H₂NC(O)OCH₃]⁺˙, [H₂NC(O)C(O)OH]⁺˙ and [H₂NC(O)CH₂CH₃]⁺˙. Its metastable dissociation takes place via [H₃NCO]⁺˙ with the isomerization as the rate-determining step. [H₂CNOH]⁺˙ undergoes a rate-determining isomerization into [H₃CNO]⁺˙ prior to metastable fragmentation. Neutralization-reionization mass spectrometry was used to identify the neutral counterparts of these [H₃,C,N,O]⁺˙ ions as stable species in the gas phase. The ion [H₃NCO]⁺˙ was not independently generated in these experiments; its neutral counterpart was predicted by theory to be only weakly bound.