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.     

The role of charge-site location in fragmenting ions. 1—[CH3 CHXCOOCH3]+˙ and [CH2XCH2 COOCH3]+˙ ions and the structures of daughter ions derived from the loss of X (X = I,Br, Cl and CH3)

The structures of the m/z 87, [C₄H₇O₂]⁺, ions generated by dissociative ionization of CH₃CGXCOOCH₃ and XCH₂CH₂COOCH₃ (X = CH₃, Cl, Br, and I) have been investigated via their unimolecular and collisionally activated fragmentations and by apperance energy measurements. For both precursors loss of X = CH₃ produced, via H atom transfer, ions of structure \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH_2 = CH}\mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } \left({{\rm OH}} \right){\rm OCH}_{\rm 3} $\end{document} (a), ΔH_f = 386 kj mol^?1. In marked contrast, loss of I^˙ from ionized CH₃CHICOOCH₃ and ICH₂CH₂COOCH₃ proceeded without rearrangement to yield respectively ions of structure \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH_3}\mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } {{\rm HCOOCH_3}} $\end{document} (b), ΔH_f = 480 kJ mol^?1 and (c), ΔH_f = 450 kJ mol^?1. These different fragmentation behaviours are explained via photoelectron spectra which show that the formal charge site in the precursor ion is at the carbonyl oxygen when X = CH₃ but at the halogen atom when X = I. The precursor molecules X = Cl and Br display both of the above characteristics, CH₃CHXCOOCH₃ yielding mixtures of a and b and XCH₂CH₂COOCH₃ producing a and c ions.     

Structure and formation of gaseous [C4H5O]+ ions. III—Ions derived from unsaturated ethers

The abundant [C₄H₅O]⁺ (m/z 69) ions found in the 70 eV mass spectra of a series of acetylenic, allenylic and unsaturated cyclic ethers are shown to have the following structures: HC?C? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}H? OCH₃ (e), H₂C?C?—OCH₃ (f), (g) and H? C?C? CH₂—O\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}H₂ (h). Of these, the cyclic ion g is the most stable: its ion enthalpy (≥ 165 kcal mol^?1) is close to that found for the acyclic C₃H₅\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}? O isomers identified in a previous study. Evidence that these four isomeric [C₄H₅O]⁺ ions are stable species with lifetimes ≥ 10^?5 s is obtained from their collisional activation spectra, the shape of the metastable peaks and the associated kinetic energy release values for the common loss of CO, thermochemical information and analysis of deuterium and carbon-13 labelled precursor molecules. It is further shown that loss of X? from ethers of the type X? C?C? CH₂OCH₃ involves isomerization into energy rich allenyl type ions [(X)HC?C?CHOCH₃]⁺˙ . These ions undergo loss of X? by simple bond cleavage, yielding, e type product ions, when the C? X bond strength is relatively low (X?I, Br). When X?Cl and especially CH₃ or H, X? is only lost after rearrangement yielding the cyclic product ion g. The mechanism for this cyclization reaction is related to that proposed in a previous study for the ester→ acid isomerization in the molecular ions of the esters of α, β-unsaturated carboxylic acids.     

The gas phase ion chemistry of the acetyl cation and isomeric [C2H3O]+ ions. On the structure of the [C2H3O]+ daughter ions generated from the enol of acetone radical cation

Methods are described for the unequivocal identification of the acetyl, [CH₃? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document} ?O] (a), 1-hydroxyvinyl, [CH₂?\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}? OH] (b), and oxiranyl, (d), cations. They involve the careful examination of metastable peak intensities and shapes and collision induced processes at very low, high and intermediate collision gas pressures. It will be shown that each [C₂H₃O]⁺ ion produces a unique metastable peak for the fragmentation [C₂H₃O]⁺ → [CH₃]⁺+CO, each appropriately relating to different [C₂H₃O]⁺ structures. [CH₃? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}?O] ions do not interconvert with any of the other [C₂H₃O]⁺ ions prior to loss of CO, but deuterium and ¹³C labelling experiments established that [CH₂?\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}? OH] (b) rearranges via a 1,2-H shift into energy-rich leading to the loss of positional identity of the carbon atoms in ions (b). Fragmentation of b to [CH₃]⁺+CO has a high activation energy, c. 400 kJ mol^?1. On the other hand, , generated at its threshold from a suitable precursor molecule, does not rearrange into [CH₂?\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}? OH], but undergoes a slow isomerization into [CH₃? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}?O] via [CH₂\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}HO]. Interpretation of results rests in part upon recent ab initio calculations. The methods described in this paper permit the identification of reactions that have hitherto lain unsuspected: for example, many of the ionized molecules of type CH₃COR examined in this work produce [CH₂?\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}? OH] ions in addition to [CH₃? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}?O] showing that some enolization takes place prior to fragmentation. Furthermore, ionized ethanol generates a, b and d ions. We have also applied the methods for identification of daughter ions in systems of current interest. The loss of OH^˙ from [CH₃COOD]^+˙ generates only [CH₂?\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}? OD]. Elimination of CH₃^˙ from the enol of acetone radical cation most probably generates only [CH₃? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}?O] ions, confirming the earlier proposal for non-ergodic behaviour of this system. We stress, however, that until all stable isomeric species (such as [CH₃? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}?C:]) have been experimentally identified, the hypothesis of incompletely randomized energy should be used with reserve.     

Structure and formation of gaseous [C4H5O]+ Ions. II–Ions of the type HCC?\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}(OH)(CH3)

Loss of an alkyl group X? from acetylenic alcohols HC?C? CX(OH)(CH₃) and gas phase protonation of HC?C? CO? CH₃ are both shown to yield stable HC?C? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}(OH)(CH₃) ions. Ions of this structure are unique among all other [C₄H₅O]⁺ isomers by having m/z 43 [C₂H₃O]⁺ as base peak in both the metastable ion and collisional activation spectra. It is concluded that the composite metastable peak for formation of m/z 43 corresponds to two distinct reaction profiles which lead to the same product ion, CH₃\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}?O, and neutral, HC?CH. It is further shown that the [C₄H₅O]⁺ ions from related alcohols (like HC?C? CH(OH)(CH₃)) which have an α-H atom available for isomerization into energy rich allenyl type molecular ions, consist of a second stable structure, H₂C?\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}? C(OH)?CH₂.     

Bifunctional even-electron ions. IV. Fragmentation behaviour of aliphatic methoxonium ions containing an additional carbomethoxy group

As for the corresponding hydroxonium ions, the methoxonium ions \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${\rm R} \!-\! \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + ({\rm OCH}_2)\! -\! ({\rm CH}_2)_n \! - \! {\rm COOCH}_3 $\end{document} (n = 0?5), b, show as the main reactions those triggered by functional group interaction, but the overall decomposition rate is not much influenced. Loss of CH₃OH is the general primary fragmentation, originating preferentially from the COOCH₃ group. The lowest homologue (b₀) shows loss of C₃H₄O as the main primary reaction, while b₁ shows loss of CH₂CO besides CH₃OH loss. The subsequent fragmentations exhibit strong chain-length dependence. Methoxy anion migration is observed as a general reaction mode of fragment ions which still contain the COOCH₃ group. The fragmentation behaviour of a and b and of the corresponding methoxy-substituted bifunctional ions has been compared, and general conclusions have been drawn.     

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. II. Fragmentation behaviour of aliphatic ω-hydroxy and ω-methoxy methoxonium ions

Bifunctional methoxonium ions \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm R} -\mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + ({\rm OCH}_3 ) - ({\rm CH}_2 )_{\rm n} - {\rm OH}({\rm b}) $\end{document} and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm R} - \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + ({\rm OCH}_3 ) - ({\rm CH}_2 )_{\rm n} - {\rm OCH}_3 ({\rm c}) $\end{document} (c) show as the main reactions those caused by functional group interaction, as has already been found for the analogous hydroxonium ions (g). Although there are similarities in the fragmentation behaviour of the isomeric ions b and g, their fragmentation pathways are different, proving b and g as distinct species. The dominant primary fragmentation for b and c is loss of CH₃OH. The hydrogen migrations prior to this reaction have been established by deuterium labelling. The findings on the fragmentation behaviour of the bifunctional methoxonium ions have been extended to the general behaviour of hydroxy and alkoxy substituted alkoxonium ions.     

Three new isomers of [C2H6O]+˙: The radical cations [CH3O(H)CH2]+˙, [CH3CHOH2]+˙ and a low-energy isomer of unassigned structure

Three new [C₂H₆O]⁺˙ ions have been generated in the gas phase by appropriate dissociative ionizations and characterized by means of their metastable and collisionally induced fragmentations. The heats of formation, ΔH_f⁰, of the two ions which were assigned the structures [CH₃O(H)CH₂]⁺˙ and [CH₃CHOH₂]⁺˙ could not be measured. The third isomer, to which the structure \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} = \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm .} {\rm H} \cdot \cdot \cdot \mathop {\rm H}\limits^ + \cdot \cdot \cdot {\rm OH}_{\rm 2} $\end{document} is tentatively assigned, was measured to have ΔH_f⁰ = 732±5 kJ mol^?1, making it the [C₂H₆O]⁺˙ isomer of lowest experimental heat of formation. It was found that the exothermic ion–radical recombinations [CH₂OH]⁺+CH₃˙→[CH₃O(H)CH₂]⁺˙ and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm HOH + H}^{\rm .} $\end{document}→[CH₃CHOH₂]⁺˙ have large energy barriers, 1.4 and ?0.9 eV, respectively, whereas the recombinations yielding [CH₃CH₂OH]⁺˙ have little or none.     

Structure and formation of gaseous [C4H5O]+ ions. IV—Ions derived from the cyclopropenium ion [C3H3]+

Characterization of [C₄H₅O]⁺ ions in the gas phase using their metastable ion and collisional activation spectra shows that the three isomeric ions HC?C? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}H? OCH₃, CH₃O? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } $\end{document}?C?CH₂ and ? OCH₃ related to the two stable [C₃H₃]⁺ cations [HC?C? CH₂]⁺ and are stable for ≥ 10^?5s. In contrast to the formation of cyclopropenium ions, it is found that the methoxy cyclopropenium ion is not generated from acyclic precursor molecules. The small but significant intensity differences found in the collisional activation spectra of [C₃H₃]⁺ ions generated from HC?C? CH₂I and HC?C? CH₂Cl possibly indicate the presence of [C₃H₃]⁺ ions of different structures.     

Loss of methyl radical from some small immonium ions: Unusual violation of the even-electron rule

Several small immonium ions of general formula \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm R}^{\rm 1} {\rm R}^{\rm 2} {\rm C = }\mathop {\rm N}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm R}^{\rm 3} {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} $\end{document} (R¹, R², R³ = H or alkyl) eliminate ^.CH₃; this reaction occurs in the mass spectrometer in both fast (source) and slow (metastable) dissociations. Such behaviour violates the even-electron rule, which states that closed-shell cations usually decompose to give closed-shell daughter ions and neutral molecules. The heats of formation of the observed product ions (for example, [(CH₃)₂C?NH]^+.) can be bracketed using arguments based on energy data. Deuterium labelling results reveal that the methyl group originally bound to nitrogen is not necessarily lost in the course of dissociation. Thus, for instance, \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm{(CH}}_{\rm{3}})_2 = \mathop {\rm{N}}\limits^{\rm{ + }} {\rm{HCD}}_{\rm{3}} $\end{document} eliminates both CH₃^. and CD₃^., via different mechanisms, but very little CH₂D^. or CHD₂^. loss occurs.     

Structure and formation of gaseous [C4H5O]+ ions. I—isomeric ions of the type C3H5\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document} $\mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + =\!= $\end{document}O

Characterization of [C₄H₅O]⁺ ions in the gas phase using their collisional activation spectra shows that the four C₃H₅\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document} $\mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + =\!= $\end{document}O isomers CH₂?C(CH₃)\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document} $\mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + =\!= $\end{document}O, CH₂?CHCH₂\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document} $\mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + =\!= $\end{document}O, CH₃CH?CH\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document} $\mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + =\!= $\end{document}O and ?? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document} $\mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + =\!= $\end{document}O are stable for ≥ 10^?5 s. It is concluded further from the characteristic shapes for the unimolecular loss of CO from C₃H₅\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document} $\mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + =\!= $\end{document}O ions generated from a series of precursor molecules that the CH₂?CH(CH₃)\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document} $\mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + =\!= $\end{document}O- and CH₂?CHCH₂\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document} $\mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + =\!= $\end{document}O-type ions dissociate over different potential surfaces to yield [allyl]⁺ and [2-propenyl]⁺ [C₃H₅]⁺ product ions respectively. Cyclopropyl carbonyl-type ions lose CO with a large kinetic energy release, which points to ring opening in the transition state, whereas this loss from CH₃CH?CH\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document} $\mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + =\!= $\end{document}O-type ions is proposed to occur via a rate determining 1,2-H shift to yield 2-propenyl cations.     

The mass spectra of six fluorinated β-diketones and their monothio analogues

The mass spectra of the fluorinated β-diketones RCOCH₂COCF₃ (R = Ph, p-FC₆H₄, p-ClC₆H₄, p-BrC₆H₄, p-MeC₆H₄ and 2-thienyl) and their monothio analogues RC(SH)?CHCOCF₃ have been obtained. The replacement of one oxygen by sulphur in the β-diketones brings about a greater complexity in the mass spectra. The β-diketones fragment by first losing a ·CF₃ radical and then successively lose CH₂?C?O and CO to yield \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${\rm [R}\mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm = O]} $\end{document} and [R]⁺. The monothio-β-diketones also fragment by an analogous reaction pathway: viz. the initial loss of ·CF₃ is followed by the successive loss of CH₂?C?O and CS to yield \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${\rm [R}\mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm = S]} $\end{document} and [R]⁺. However, they also fragment by two other pathways involving the initial loss of ·H and ·X (X=F, Cl, Br, Me), the latter occurring only with those monothio-β-diketones having R=p-XC₆H₄.     

Structure and formation of some [C4H5O2]+ ions generated by radical losses in pseudo simple cleavage reactions

Characterization of some [C₄H₅O₂]⁺ ions in the gas phase using their collisional activation mass spectra shows that the isomeric ions \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_3 {\rm OCH = CH} - \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + {\rm = O,} $\end{document} and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm HC} \equiv {\rm C} - \mathop {{\rm C}({\rm OH}){\rm OCH}_3 }\limits^ + $\end{document} are stable for t?10^?5 s. Of these, ions of structure were generated by the site specific gas phase protonation of γ-crotonolactone with isobutane or methanol as chemical ionization reagent gases. These results and those derived from measurements on some ²H, ¹³C and ¹⁸O labelled [C₄H₅O₂]⁺ product ions, were used to study the mechanisms of unimolecular radical elimination reactions, viz. (1) loss of CH₃˙ from [trans-methyl crotonate], (2) loss of H˙ from [methyl acrylate]⁺˙, (3) loss of H˙ from [cyclopropane carboxylic acid]⁺˙ and (4) loss of CH₃˙ from [1,3-dimethoxypropyne]⁺˙. It is concluded that none of these losses occur by simple bond cleavage. Mechanisms are presented which account for the observation that the first three reactions yield product ions of structure whereas the ions generated by reaction (4) have structure \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_3 {\rm OCH = CH} - \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + {\rm = O}{\rm .} $\end{document}. It is further proposed that a minor fraction of the [M-CH₃]⁺ ions from ionized trans-methyl crotonate is generated via a rearrangement process which yields ions of structure \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_3 {\rm OCH = CH} - \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + {\rm = O}{\rm .} $\end{document}.     

Stable [C2H7O2]+ isomers: Experimental and theoretical evidence for the existence of protonated peroxides and proton-bound dimers in the gas phase

Evidence is presented for the gas phase generation of at least eight stable isomeric [C₂H₇O₂]⁺ ions. These include energy-rich protonated peroxides (ions \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH}_2 {\rm O}\mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}_{\rm 2} $\end{document} (e), \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} \mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm (H)OH} $\end{document} (f) and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm O}\mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm (H)CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm (g)),} $\end{document} (g)), proton-bound dimers (ions \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH = O} \cdot \cdot \cdot \mathop {\rm H}\limits^{\rm 3} \cdot \cdot \cdot {\rm OH}_{\rm 2} $\end{document} (h) and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH2 = O} \cdot \cdot \cdot \mathop {\rm H}\limits^{\rm + } \cdot \cdot \cdot {\rm HOCH}_{\rm 3} $\end{document} (i)) and hydroxy-protonated species (ions \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} {\rm (OH)CH}_{\rm 2} \mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}_{\rm 2} (a), $\end{document} \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH(OH)}\mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}_{\rm 2} $\end{document} (b) and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm OCH}_{\rm 2} \mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}_{\rm 2} $\end{document} (c)). The important points of the present study are (i) that these ions are prevented by high barriers from facile interconversion and (ii) that both electron-impact- and proton-induced gas phase decompositions seem to proceed via multistep reactions, some of which eventually result in the formation of proton-bound dimers.     

An investigation of the decomposition of the intermediate ions produced by electron-impact. II—[C7H7]+ ions from several halogenotoluenes

The structure and decomposition of the [C₇H₇]⁺ ions produced by electron-impact from o-, m- and p-chlorotoluene, o-, m- and p-bromotoluence, and p-iodotoluence, have been investigated. By determining the relative abundance of normal and metastable ions, these [C₇H₇]⁺ ions at electron energy of 20 eV are shown to be so-called ‘tropylium ions’. The amount of the internal energy of the [C₇H₇]⁺ ion estimated by the relative ion abundance ratios, ? [C₅H₅]⁺/[C₇H₇]⁺ and m*/[C₇H₇]⁺ for the decomposition \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ [{\rm C}_{\rm 7} {\rm H}_{\rm 7}]^ + \mathop \to \limits^{m^* } [{\rm C}_{\rm 5} {\rm H}_{\rm 5}]^ + + {\rm C}_{\rm 2} {\rm H}_{\rm 2} $\end{document}, is in the order iodotoluene > bromotoluene > chlorotoluene. The heats of formation of the activated complexes for the reaction \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ [{\rm C}_{\rm 7} {\rm H}_{\rm 7}]^ + \mathop \to \limits^{m^* } [{\rm C}_{\rm 5} {\rm H}_{\rm 5}]^ + + {\rm C}_{\rm 2} {\rm H}_{\rm 2} $\end{document} were estimated. The values suggest that the decomposing [C₇H₇]⁺ ions from various halogenotoluenes are identical in structure.     

The collisionally induced dissociation of allyl and 2-propenyl cations

Pure [CH₂CHCH₂]⁺ and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm{CH}}_{\rm{3}} \mathop {\rm{C}}\limits^{\rm{ + }} = {\rm{CH}}_{\rm{2}} $\end{document} ions are generated only in metastable fragmentations of [CH₂?CHCH₂X]⁺˙, X=Cl, Br, I, and [CH₃CX?CH₂]⁺˙, X=Br, I, respectively. For ion source generated [C₃H₅]⁺ ions there is some structural interconversion. The structure characteristic feature of their collisional activation mass spectra is the ratio m/z 27 ([C₂H₃]⁺): m/z 26 ([C₂H₂]⁺˙). For \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm{CH}}_{\rm{3}} \mathop {\rm{C}}\limits^{\rm{ + }} = {\rm{CH}}_{\rm{2}} $\end{document} the ratio is only weakly dependent upon the translational energy of the ion. For [CH₂CHCH₂]⁺, the ratio rises sharply as translational energy is reduced, from 0.9 at 8 kV to c. 3 at 1 kV. [CH₂CHCH₂]⁺ ions generated by charge reversal of [CH₂CHCH₂]^? show higher ratios, resulting from their lower average internal energy content. It must therefore be emphasized that [C₃H₅]⁺ ion structure assignments should only be made using reference data which apply to specific experimental conditions. [C₃H₅]⁺ daughter ion structures for a number of well-known fragmentations have been established. The heat of formation of the 2-propenyl cation was measured to be 969±5 kJ mol^?1. Labelling experiments show that at low internal energies, allyl cations do not undergo atom randomization in c. 1–2 μs; high internal energy ions of longer lifetime (c. 8 μs) show complete atom randomization. H^˙ atom loss from [¹³CH₃CH?CH₂]⁺˙ has been shown to generate [¹³CH₂CHCH₂]⁺ and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {}^{{\rm{13}}}{\rm{CH}}_{\rm{2}} \mathop {\rm{C}}\limits^{\rm{ + }} - {\rm{CH}}_{\rm{3}} $\end{document} without any skeletal rearrangement.     

[C3H3O]+ ions; reacting and non-reacting configurations

Three [C₃H₃O]⁺ ion structures have been characterized. The most stable of these is \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} = {\rm CH} - \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + = {\rm O} $\end{document} its heat of formation ΔH_f was measured as 749±5 kJ mol^?1. In the μs time frame this ion fragments exclusively by loss of CO, a process which also dominates its collisional activation mass spectrum. The other stable [C₃H₃O]⁺ structures, \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}\equiv \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + - {\rm CHOH} $\end{document} and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} = {\rm C} = \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } - {\rm OH}, $\end{document}, were generated from some acetylenic and allenic precursor ions; their heats of formation were estimated to be 830 and 880 kJ mol^?1 respectively. The former ion was also produced by the gas phase protonation of propynal. These ions show loss of C₂H₂ and CO in both their metastable ion and collisional activation mass spectra. The broad Gaussian-type metastable peak for the loss of CO was shown to consist of two components corresponding to gragmentations having different activation energies.     

Gas phase ion chemistry of methyl acetate,methyl propanoate and their enolic tautomers. An experimental approach

From a combination of isotopic substitution, time-resolved measurements and sequential collision experiments, it was proposed that whereas ionized methyl acetate prior to fragmentation rearranges largely into \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_3 \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + ({\rm OH}){\rm O}\mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm .} {\rm H}_2 $\end{document}, in contrast, methyl propanoate molecular ions isomerize into \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm C}\limits^. {\rm H}_2 {\rm CH}_2 \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + ({\rm OH}){\rm OCH}_3 $\end{document}. Metastably fragmenting methyl acetate molecular ions are known predominantly to form H₂?OH together with \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_3 - \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + = {\rm O} $\end{document}, whereas ionized methyl propanoate largely yields H₃CO˙ together with \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_3 {\rm CH}_2 - \mathop {\rm C}\limits^ + = {\rm O} $\end{document}. The observations were explained in terms of the participation of different distonic molecular ions. The enol form of ionized methyl acetate generates substantially more H₃CO˙ in admixture with H₂?OH than the keto tautomer. This is ascribed to the rearrangement of the enol ion to the keto form being partially rate determining, which results in a wider range of internal energies among metastably fragmenting enol ions. Extensive ab initio calculations at a high level of theory would be required to establish detailed reaction mechanisms.     

Propanoyl ion formation from metastable [C3H6O]+˙ ions

Collisionally activated spectra demonstrate that CH₃CH₂C?O⁺ rather than \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${\rm CH}_{\rm 2} = {\rm CHCH = }\mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}$\end{document} is formed in the metastable losses of hydrogen from [C₃H₆O]^+˙ ions with the oxygen on the first carbon. This provides another example of formation of an acyl ion following ‘ketonization’ prior to metastable decomposition.