Dissociative chemistry of ionic transition metal cluster fragments

The ionic fragments formed by collision-induced dissociation of Mn₂(CO) _y ⁺ ions (y=1–10) are reported. The ratio of product ions formed by metal-metal vs. metal-ligand bond cleavage are discussed in terms of the dependence of the metal-metal bond energy on the metal-to-ligand ratio. The collision-induced dissociation data indicate that the metal-metal bond energy of Mn₂(CO) ₅ ⁺ and Mn₂(CO) ₁₀ ⁺ is less than that for Mn₂(CO) _y ⁺ (y=1–4 and 6–9). The product ions arising by metal-metal and metal-ligand bond cleavage reactions for collision-induced dissociation and photodissociation are compared. On the basis of this data and the known photochemistry/photophysics of Mn₂(CO)₁₀, it is proposed that the difference in collision-induced dissociation and photodissociation product ion branching ratios is attributable to spin-orbit transitions of the activated ions.     

Mass spectrometric study of the dissociation of Group XI metal complexes with fatty acids and glycerolipids: Ag2H+ and Cu2H+ ion formation in the presence of a double bond

Results of mass spectrometric studies are reported for the collisional dissociation of Group XI (Cu, Ag, Au) metal ion complexes with fatty acids (palmitic, oleic, linoleic and α-linolenic) and glycerolipids. Remarkably, the formation of M₂H⁺ ions (M = Cu, Ag) is observed as a dissociation product of the ion complexes containing more than one metal cation and only if the lipid in the complex contains a double bond. Ag₂H⁺ is formed as the main dissociation channel for all three of the fatty acids containing double bonds that were investigated while Cu₂H⁺ is formed with one of the fatty acids and, although abundant, is not the dominant dissociation channel. Also, Cu(I) and Ag(I) ion complexes were observed with glycerolipids (including triacylglycerols and glycerophospholipids) containing either saturated or unsaturated fatty acid substituents. Interestingly, Ag₂H⁺ ion is formed in a major fragmentation channel with the lipids that are able to form the complex with two metal cations (triacylglycerols and glycerophosphoglycerols), while lipids containing a fixed positive charge (glycerophospocholines) complex only with a single metal cation. The formation of Ag₂H⁺ ion is a significant dissociation channel from the complex ion [Ag₂(L–H)]⁺ where L = Glycerophospholipid (GP) (18:1/18:1). Cu(I) also forms complexes of two metal cations with glycerophospholipids but these do not produce Cu₂H⁺ upon dissociation. Rather organic fragments, not containing Cu(I), are formed, perhaps due to different interactions of these metal cations with lipids resulting from the much smaller ionic radius of Cu(I) compared to Ag(I).     

Photodissociation Dynamics of Dichlorodifluoromethane (CF2Cl2) around 235 nm using Time-Sliced Velocity Map Imaging Technology

Photodissociation dynamics of dichlorodifluoromethane (CF₂Cl₂) around 235 nm has been studied using the time-sliced velocity map imaging technology in combination with the resonance enhanced multi-photon ionization technology. By measuring the raw images of chlorine atoms which are formed via one-photon dissociation of CF₂Cl₂, the speed and angular distributions can be directly obtained. The speed distribution of excited-state chlorine atoms consists of high translation energy (E_T) and low E_T components, which are related to direct dissociation on ³Q₀ state and predissociation on the ground state induced by internal conversion, respectively. The speed distribution of ground-state chlorine atoms also consists of high E_T and low E_T components which are related to predissociation between ³Q₀ and ¹Q₁ states and predissociation on the ground state induced by internal conversion, respectively. Radical dissociation channel is confirmed, nevertheless, secondary dissociation and three-body dissociation channels are excluded.     

Effects of wavelength,pressure and scavengers on the isotopically selective multiphoton dissociation of C2F5Cl

The enrichment factor of carbon-13 in the products of multiphoton dissociation of C₂F₅Cl has been investigated as a function of CO₂-laser wavelength and fluence. Pressure effects have been studied both on the pure sample and in the presence of several additives (He, Xe, O₂, H₂, NO, I₂). Dissociation of ¹²C₂F₅Cl and enrichment in carbon-13 are strongly affected by O₂, which reacts with the fluoroalkyl radicals formed in the dissociation process.     

Acetone Formation from Photolysis of 2-Propanol on Anatase-TiO2(101)

Photocatalysis of 2-propanol on A-TiO₂(101) has been investigated using a temperature programed desorption method with 266 nm laser light. A clear mechanism is proposed for photodissociation of 2-propanol on A-TiO₂(101). Acetone product on five coordinate Ti⁴⁺ sites is formed in a stepwise manner in which the O-H dissociation proceeds first and then followed by secondary C-H dissociation of 2-propanol while H atoms are transferred to the adjacent bridge bond oxygen (BBO) sites. Low temperature water is formed in a thermally driven process via H-atom on BBO in exchange with isopropyl groups of molecule 2-propanol, while isopropyl radical desorbs at high temperature during the TPD process. The observation demonstrates the prospect of TiO₂ as a photocatalyst for degradation of organics.     

Kinetics of Surface-Induced Dissociation of N(CH3) 4 + and N(CD3) 4 + Using Silicon Nanoparticle Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization and Laser Desorption/Ionization

The implementation of surface-induced dissociation (SID) to study the fast dissociation kinetics (sub-microsecond dissociation) of peptides in a MALDI TOF instrument has been reported previously. Silicon nanoparticle assisted laser desorption/ionization (SPALDI) now allows the study of small molecule dissociation kinetics for ions formed with low initial source internal energy and without MALDI matrix interference. The dissociation kinetics of N(CH₃)₄⁺ and N(CD₃)₄⁺ were chosen for investigation because the dissociation mechanisms of N(CH₃)₄⁺ have been studied extensively, providing well-characterized systems to investigate by collision with a surface. With changes in laboratory collision energy, changes in fragmentation timescale and dominant fragment ions were observed, verifying that these ions dissociate via unimolecular decay. At lower collision energies, methyl radical (CH₃) loss with a sub-microsecond dissociation rate is dominant, but consecutive H loss after CH₃ loss becomes dominant at higher collision energies. These observations are consistent with the known dissociation pathways. The dissociation rate of CH₃ loss from N(CH₃)₄⁺ formed by SPALDI and dissociated by an SID lab collision energy of 15 eV corresponds to log k = 8.1, a value achieved by laser desorption ionization (LDI) and SID at 5 eV. The results obtained with SPALDI SID and LDI SID confirm that (1) the dissociation follows unimolecular decay as predicted by RRKM calculations; (2) the SPALDI process deposits less initial energy than LDI, which has advantages for kinetics studies; and (3) fluorinated self-assembled monolayers convert about 18% of laboratory collision energy into internal energy. SID TOF experiments combined with SPALDI and peak shape analysis enable the measurement of dissociation rates for fast dissociation of small molecules.     

Effect of the molecular structure on the strength of the C-NO<Subscript>2</Subscript> bond in a series of monofunctional nitrobenzene derivatives

Geometric parameters and formation enthalpy and the enthalpy of the radicals formed during the homolytic breakage of C-NO₂ bond in 37 aromatic nitro compounds were calculated using different bases of the hybrid density functional method B3LYP, as well as the composite CBS-QB3 methods. On the basis of thermochemical data, were calculated the C-NO₂ bond dissociation energy and the activation energy of the radical gas-phase decomposition. Donor substituents were shown to cause an increase in the C-NO₂ bond dissociation energy, while the acceptors decrease it. The values of activation energies of gas-phase decomposition of aromatic nitro compounds calculated basing on the C-NO₂ bond dissociation energy are in good agreement with experiment.     

Theoretical predictions of the nitrogen heterocyclic compounds with metal and noble gas (metal = Cu,Ag, Au)

Here, we report a new type of Ng-containing compounds formed between the Ng-M group and nitrogen heterocyclic compounds, (CH₂)_nHNCuNg⁺ (n = 2, 3), (CH)₄NMNg, and (CH)₅NCuNg⁺ (M = Cu, Ag, Au; Ng = Ar, Kr, Xe). Quantum chemistry computations were carried out to optimize their geometric structures and calculate the dissociation energies, dissociation enthalpy, and dissociation free energy change. The stability of these Ng-bonding complexes was inspected by investigating the three dissociation processes of the these compounds into (a) Ng, M, and nitrogen heterocycle C_nN; (b) C_nN + MNg⁺; and (c) C_nNM + Ng, which are all endothermic and nonspontaneous, these dissociation processes are also turned out to be endergonic in nature at standard state. The natural bond orbital, atoms in molecules, and energy decomposition analysis based on the molecular wavefunction show that the M-Ng and M-N bonds have some covalent and electrostatic characters.     

Investigation of some pentasubstituted 1,4-dihydropyridines by means of fast ion bombardment,chemical ionization and electron impact mass spectrometry

Positive fast ion bombardment, positive chemical ionization (CI⁺) and positive electron impact (EI) ionization mass spectrometry were used to investigate a number of relatively large and structurally related organic molecules. Some of the major dissociation pathways observed in the CH₄-CI⁺ mass spectra are not present under NH₃-CI⁺ conditions, but are obtained in the collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectrum of the 50 eV MH⁺ molecular ion, formed in the latter reaction. The resemblance between the EI mass spectra and their fast ion bombardment counterparts, the effect of changing the energy of the bombarding Cs⁺ ion beam over the range 2–16 keV and the different degrees of internal excitation of ions formed in different CI reagent gases are discussed.     

Homogeneous pyrolysis of acetylacetone at high temperatures in shock waves

The kinetics of the thermal decomposition of acetylacetone has been studied in a shock tube in the temperature range of 1120–1660 K. Detailed analyses of CO and H₂O formation data indicate that H₂O is formed by a four-center molecular channel, whereas CO is formed by the rapid dissociation of CH₃CO produced by the C? C bond dissociation of acetylacetone. The Arrhenius equations for H₂O and CH₃CO formation channels are ??₂ = 10^14.24±0.21 exp(?60,800 ± 1,220/RT)sec^?1 and ??₃ = 10^17.05±0.28 exp(?74,600 ± 1,680/RT) sec^?1, respectively. The results of the study suggest that the six-center molecular channel for the production of acetone and ketene is not important under the condition used in this investigation.     

Multiple-stage mass spectrometry in structural characterization of organophosphorus compounds

Multiple-stage mass spectrometry involving consecutive collision-activated dissociation reactions was used to examine the structures of fragment ions commonly formed on electron ionization of organophosphorus esters. The compounds studied include several aryl thiophosphates, some of which are analogs of common pesticides. Energy-resolved collisionactivated dissociation experiments allow the dissociation of the molecular ions of these compounds in such a manner that only a few fragment ions dominate the spectrum. An abundant fragment ion of m/z 109, formed from all of the compounds studied, can have at least four different stable structures: (CH₃O)₂PO⁺, CH₃CH₂OP(O)OH⁺, CH₂ =CHOP(H)(OH)₂ ⁺, and (CH₂O)₂P(H)OH⁺. The structure of the fragment ion of m/z 109 was found to reflect the phosphorus-containing part of the compounds studied. Another abundant fragment ion obtained for all the aryl esters studied is structurally characteristic of the aromatic moiety of the molecule. This fragment ion is the result of a complex rearrangement involving transfer of an alkylene group to the aromatic ring from the phosphoruscontaining part of the molecular ion. The utility of these fragment ions in the structural characterization of unknown organophosphorus esters is discussed.     

Dependence of collision‐induced dissociation energy on molecular degrees of freedom as a means to assess relative binding affinity in multivalent complexes

In collision‐induced dissociation mass spectrometry experiments, the collision energy required for dissociation linearly depends on the degrees of freedom in the precursor ion. The magnitude of the slope of this relationship previously has been shown to qualitatively correlate to the relative binding strength of a noncovalently bound, monovalent complex. The goal of the work presented here is to determine if a similar methodology can be applied for assessing relative binding strengths in multivalent species. We have tested the method on complexes formed from 18‐crown‐6 and a variety of protonated, primary alkylamines, [C_nH_2n+1NH₃]⁺ (n = 9, 12, 14, 16 and 18) and alkyldiamines, [H₃NC_nH_2nNH₃]²⁺ (n = 3, 5, 6, 9 and 12), and compared our results with dissociation energies calculated using density functional theory at the B3LYP/6‐31G* level. We found that the method correctly assessed the stronger crown ether/headgroup interaction in the two divalent species (1:1 and 2:1 complexes formed from the diaminoalkanes) compared with the weaker interaction in the monovalent species (1:1 complexes formed from mono‐aminoalkanes). However, the experimental method could not distinguish between the binding strengths of the two divalent complexes, perhaps because their calculated dissociation energies were quite similar. Our preliminary results suggest that this method could potentially be used for a quick and simple analysis of binding strengths in multivalent species if the binding strengths of the species are significantly different from one another. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structure determination of some C4H5N+˙ Ions from substituted pyridines by collisionally activated dissociation mass spectrometry

A standard procedure for recording and correcting collisionally activated dissociation mass spectra is proposed, and used to distinguish between the C₄H₅N^+˙ ions formed from hydroxy- and amino-pyridines after loss of CO and HCN, respectively. It is concluded that these ions are cyclic. From the 4-isomers the 3H-pyrrole ion is formed whereas from 2-hydroxypyridine the 1H-pyrrole ion is formed. In the other cases, mixtures of 2H- and either 1H- or 3H-pyrrole ions are generated, depending on the nature of the precursor.     

A new graphical method for determining stability constants of weak and polynuclear complexes

A graphical method is proposed for differentiating mono- and poly-nuclear complexes as well as for determining the stability constants of weak complexes. The method is based on the effect of dilution on the degree of dissociation of the complex. The precision for log K is ±0.02 for a degree of dissociation between 30 and 70%. The greatest values for log K that can be determined are 4.3, 12.4, 7.5 and 10.7 for 1:1, 2:2, 2:1 and 3:1 ligand: metal complexes, respectively. If log K₁ ? 5.7, the method permits log K₂ to be determined if simultaneous complexes are formed.     

Structure of gas phase [C5H6]+˙ ions

Charge-stripping spectra have been used to differentiate ionized cyclopentadiene from its acyclic isomers. The minimum amounts of translational energy lost during the charge-stripping processes and the relative charge-stripping efficiencies, which are also structurally important parameters, have been measured for these ionic species. [C₅H₆]⁺˙ ions, formed by dissociative ionization of various precursors in the ion source are found, usually, to be a mixture of cyclic and acyclic ions. In contrast, [C₅H₆]⁺˙ ions, derived from the dissociation of metastable molecular ions from a series of organic compounds, have the cyclopentadienyl structure. This structure was confirmed by collision-induced dissociation of ions formed in the first field-free region of a triple sector mass spectrometer.     

CO2 laser-induced photolysis of spirohexane: Time resolved observation of vibrationally excited 1,3-butadiene

Vibrationally excited spirohexane (SHX) generated in CO₂ laser irradiation undergoes photolysis producing ethylene, 1,3-butadiene and a C₄ compound as major products. Collisional energy pooling plays a major role in the multiphoton excitation process. Time-resolved formation of 1,3-butadiene is monitored by UV absorption from which the unimolecular rate constant for SHX dissociation is found to be 5.6 × 10⁵ s⁻¹. A red shift of 4O nm observed in the transient UV absorption spectrum has been assigned to nascent 1,3-butadiene, which suggests that vibrationally hot 1,3-butadiene molecules are formed. The effects of laser energy fluence and pressure of SF₆ as a sensitizer on dissociation yield are also investigated.     

Probing the pyrolysis of methyl formate in the dilute gas phase by synchrotron radiation and theory

The thermal dissociation of the atmospheric constituent methyl formate was probed by coupling pyrolysis with imaging photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy (iPEPICO) using synchrotron VUV radiation at the Swiss Light Source (SLS). iPEPICO allows threshold photoelectron spectra to be obtained for pyrolysis products, distinguishing isomers and separating ionic and neutral dissociation pathways. In this work, the pyrolysis products of dilute methyl formate, CH₃OC(O)H, were elucidated to be CH₃OH + CO, 2 CH₂O and CH₄ + CO₂ as in part distinct from the dissociation of the radical cation (CH₃OH^+• + CO and CH₂OH⁺ + HCO). Density functional theory, CCSD(T), and CBS-QB3 calculations were used to describe the experimentally observed reaction mechanisms, and the thermal decomposition kinetics and the competition between the reaction channels are addressed in a statistical model. One result of the theoretical model is that CH₂O formation was predicted to come directly from methyl formate at temperatures below 1200 K, while above 1800 K, it is formed primarily from the thermal decomposition of methanol.     

Ab initio study of the transition-metal carbene cations

The geometries and bonding characteristics of the first-row transition-metal carbene cations MCH_2~ were investigated by ab initio molecular orbital theory (HF/LANL2DZ). All of MCH_2~ are coplanar. In the closed shell structures the C bonds to M with double bonds; while in the open shell structures the partial double bonds are formed, because one of the σ and π orbitals is singly occupied. It is mainly the π-type overlap between the 2p_x orbital of C and 4p_x, 3d_(xz), orbitals of M~ that forms the π orbitals. The dissociation energies of C—M bond appear in periodic trend from Sc to Cu. Most of the calculated bond dissociation energies are close to the experimental ones.     

Ion-Velocity Map Imaging Study of Photodissociation Dynamics of Acetaldehyde

The photodissociation dynamics of acetaldehyde in the radical channel CH3＋HCO has been reinvestigated using time-sliced velocity map imaging technique in the photolysis wavelength range of 275-321 nm. The CH3 fragments have been probed via （2＋1） resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. Images are measured for CH3 formed in the ground and excited states （v2=0 and 1） of the umbrella vibrational mode. For acetaldehyde dissociation on T1 state after intersystem crossing from S1 state, the products are formed with high translational energy release and low internal excitation. The rotational and vibrational energy of both fragments increases with increasing photodissociation energy. The triplet barrier height is estimated at 3.8814-0.006 eV above the ground state of acetaldehyde.