Photodissociation spectrum of cyanobenzene dimer cation. Absence of intermolecular resonance interaction

Electronic spectra of a homo-molecular dimer cation, (C₆H₅CN)₂ ⁺, are measured by photodissociation spectroscopy in the gas phase. Broad features appeared in the 450–650 nm region are characteristic of π₃ → π_CN transitions of the C₆H₅CN⁺ chromophore. No intense band is observed in the 650–1300 nm region, where other aromatic dimer cations usually show charge resonance bands. Two component molecules of (C₆H₅CN)₂ ⁺ cannot take a parallel sandwich configuration suitable for the resonance interaction, because of geometrical constraints due to other stronger interactions.     

Dissociation Pathway Analysis of Thymine under Low Energy VUV Photon Excitation

Photon-induced dissociation pathways of thymine are investigated with vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry and theoretical calculations. The photoionization mass spectra of thymine at different photon energy are measured and presented. By selecting suitable photon energy, exclusively molecular ion m/z=126 is obtained. At photon energy of 12.0 eV, the major ionic fragments at m/z=98, 97, 84, 83, 70, and 55 are obtained, which are assigned to C₄H₆N₂₄O⁺、C₄H₅N₂O⁺、C₃H₄N₂O⁺(or C₄H₆NO⁺)、C₄H₅NO⁺、C₂NO₂⁺ and C₃H₅N⁺, respectively. With help of theoretical calculations, the detailed dissociation pathways of thymine at low energy are well established.     

Electrochemical approach to direct homogeneous chemical cyanation of ferricenium salts: The complexing of system components

An unusual homogeneous chemical reaction of a direct cyanation of ferricenium salts by hydrocyanic acid is analyzed on the basis of an electrochemical approach and the notions of the chemistry of coordination compounds about an inner-sphere electron transfer. The complexing between a ferricenium cation and cyanide anion is confirmed experimentally using a potentiometric titration of aqueous solutions of ferricenium tetrafluoroborate by hydrocyanic acid. Variations of the mechanism of a rebound substitution of the CN group in the cyclopentadienyl ring for the hydrogen atom are considered. The mechanism is based on the notion about an inner-sphere redox reaction between the Fe(III) atom of a ferricenium cation and the CN^- anion. The magnitude and sign of the difference between standard potentials of systems [(C₅H₅)₂M)]⁺/(C₅H₅)₂M and CN⁺/CN^- are found to represent a thermodynamic criterion indicating whether cations of metallocenes [(C₅H₅)₂M]⁺ may be directly cyanated by hydrocyanic acid. Dedicated to the memory of Academician A.N. Nesmeyanov, in connection with his centennial.     

Structures of decomposing and non-decomposing gas-phase [C4H6O]+· radical cations,and their [C2H2O]+· and [C3H6]+· product ions

The structures of gas-phase [C₄H₆O]^+· radical cations and their daughter ions of composition [C₂H₂O]^+· and [C₃H₆]^+· were investigated by using collisionally activated dissociation, metastable ion measurement, kinetic energy release and collisional ionization tandem mass spectrometric techniques. Electron ionization (70 eV) of ethoxyacetylene, methyl vinyl ketone, crotonaldehyde and 1-methoxyallene yields stable [C₄H₆O]^+· ions, whereas the cyclic C₄H₆O compounds undergo ring opening to stable distonic ions. The structures of [C₂H₃O]^+· ions produced by 70-eV ionization of several C₄H₆O compounds are identical with that of the ketene radical cation. The [C₃H₆]^+· ions generated from crotonaldehyde, methacrylaldehyde, and cyclopropanecarboxaldehyde have structures similar to that of the propene radical cations, whereas those ions generated from the remainder of the [C₄H₆O]^+· ions studied here produced a mixed population of cyclopropane and propene radical cations.     

Collisionally activated dissociation of some pyridinium cations: Novel fragmentation pathways

Three novel collisionally induced dissociation pathways, additional to the usual formation of pyridine or pyridinium cation, are described for laser-desorbed N-substituted pyridinium cations. Particularly prevalent is the formation of an ion of m/z 94, corresponding to [PyCH₃]⁺. Doubly charged pyridiniums tend to lose H⁺, and one example of the apparent formation of the neutral radical C₅H₆N˙ is reported.     

VUV photoionisation of free azabenzenes: Pyridine, pyrazine, pyrimidine, pyridazine and s-triazine

Photoionisation mass spectrometry was used to obtain the fragmentation pathways of pyridine, pyridazine, pyrimidine, pyrazine and s-triazine molecules upon absorption of 23.0, 15.7 and 13.8 eV synchrotron photons. The ionic fragments observed vary from molecule to molecule, however C₂H₂⁺, HCN⁺and HCNH⁺ are common to all five molecules at the three photon energies. Furthermore, the presence of C₂H₂N₂⁺, C₃H₃N⁺ and C₄H₄⁺ in the spectra of some of the molecules suggests dissociation pathways via loss of HCN moieties. The respective parent cations, m/q=79, 80 and 81 have a greater yield at low photon energies when compared to the most intense fragment peak in each spectra. We recorded two of the fragment cation yields, as well as the parent photoion yield curves of pyridine, pyridazine, and pyrimidine in the 8–30 eV range. The formation of abundant cation fragments show a strong propensity of the molecules for dissociation after the absorption of VUV photons higher than 14 eV. The differences in relative fragment yields from molecule to molecule, and when changing the excitation energy, suggest significant bond rearrangements and nuclear motion during the dissociation time. Thus, bond cleavage is dependent on the photon energy deposited in the molecule and on intramolecular reactivity. With the aid of photoion yield curves and energy estimations we have assigned major peaks in the spectra and discussed their fragmentation pathways.     

Photofragmentation of 2‐Deoxy‐D‐Ribose Molecules in the Gas Phase

We have measured the synchrotron‐induced photofragmentation of isolated 2‐deoxy‐D ‐ribose molecules (C₅H₁₀O₄) at four photon energies, namely, 23.0, 15.7, 14.6, and 13.8 eV. At all photon energies above the molecule′s ionization threshold we observe the formation of a large variety of molecular cation fragments, including CH₃⁺, OH⁺, H₃O⁺, C₂H₃⁺, C₂H₄⁺, CH_xO⁺ (x=1,2,3), C₂H_xO⁺ (x=1–5), C₃H_xO⁺ (x=3–5), C₂H₄O₂⁺, C₃H_xO₂⁺ (x=1,2,4–6), C₄H₅O₂⁺, C₄H_xO₃⁺ (x=6,7), C₅H₇O₃⁺, and C₅H₈O₃⁺. The formation of these fragments shows a strong propensity of the DNA sugar to dissociate upon absorption of vacuum ultraviolet photons. The yields of particular fragments at various excitation photon energies in the range between 10 and 28 eV are also measured and their appearance thresholds determined. At all photon energies, the most intense relative yield is recorded for the m/q=57 fragment (C₃H₅O⁺), whereas a general intensity decrease is observed for all other fragments— relative to the m/q=57 fragment—with decreasing excitation energy. Thus, bond cleavage depends on the photon energy deposited in the molecule. All fragments up to m/q=75 are observed at all photon energies above their respective threshold values. Most notably, several fragmentation products, for example, CH₃⁺, H₃O⁺, C₂H₄⁺, CH₃O⁺, and C₂H₅O⁺, involve significant bond rearrangements and nuclear motion during the dissociation time. Multibond fragmentation of the sugar moiety in the sugar–phosphate backbone of DNA results in complex strand lesions and, most likely, in subsequent reactions of the neutral or charged fragments with the surrounding DNA molecules.     

A predictive model for unimolecular reactions: Reactions of unsaturated carbonium ions

The major slow unimolecular reactions undergone by C₄H₇⁺, C₅H₉⁺ and C₆H⁺₁₁ are discussed in terms of a potential surface approach and the organic chemist's concept of mechanism. It is shown that the observed decompositions which do not involve σ-bond formation in the dissociation step are precisely those expected from the model. Further use of the model correctly predicts the slow reactions of C₇H⁺₁₃ which have not previously been reported. The approach also permits useful limits to be set on the transition state energies for reactions involving σ-bond formation in the dissociation step (H₂,CH₄ loss). It is concluded that stepwise addition of ethylene to the allyl cation is preferred to a concerted 4-electron process which is symmetry forbidden.     

Vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometric study of cyclohexene

In this work, photoionization and dissociation of cyclohexene have been studied by means of coupling a reflectron time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer with the tunable vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) synchrotron radiation. The adiabatic ionization energy of cyclohexene as well as the appearance energies of its fragment ions C₆H₉⁺, C₆H₇⁺, C₅H₇⁺, C₅H₅⁺, C₄H₆⁺, C₄H₅⁺, C₃H₅⁺ and C₃H₃⁺ were derived from the onset of the photoionization efficiency (PIE) curves. The optimized structures for the transition states and intermediates on the ground state potential energy surfaces related to photodissociation of cyclohexene were characterized at the ωB97X‐D/6‐31+g(d,p) level. The coupled cluster method, CCSD(T)/cc‐pVTZ, was employed to calculate the corresponding energies with the zero‐point energy corrections by the ωB97X‐D/6‐31+g(d,p) approach. Combining experimental and theoretical results, possible formation pathways of the fragment ions were proposed and discussed in detail. The retro‐Cope rearrangement was found to play a crucial role in the formation of C₄H₆⁺, C₄H₅⁺ and C₃H₅⁺. Intramolecular hydrogen migrations were observed as dominant processes in most of the fragmentation pathways of cyclohexene. The present research provides a clear picture of the photoionization and dissociation processes of cyclohexene in the 8‐ to 15.5‐eV photon energy region. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Dissociative photoionization of isoprene: experiments and calculations

Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) dissociative photoionization of isoprene in the energy region 8.5–18 eV was investigated with photoionization mass spectroscopy (PIMS) using synchrotron radiation (SR). The ionization energy (IE) of isoprene as well as the appearance energies (AEs) of its fragment ions C₅H₇⁺, C₅H₅⁺, C₄H₅⁺, C₃H₆⁺, C₃H₅⁺, C₃H₄⁺, C₃H₃⁺ and C₂H₃⁺ were determined with photoionization efficiency (PIE) curves. The dissociation energies of some possible dissociation channels to produce those fragment ions were also determined experimentally. The total energies of C₅H₈ and its main fragments were calculated using the Gaussian 03 program and the Gaussian‐2 method. The IE of C₅H₈, the AEs for its fragment ions, and the dissociation energies to produce them were predicted using the high‐accuracy energy model. According to our results, the experimental dissociation energies were in reasonable agreement with the calculated values of the proposed photodissociation channels of C₅H₈. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Neutralization-reionization study of C6H6O isomers

Neutralization-reionization (⁺NR⁺) mass spectrometry is employed to examine the behavior of C₆H₆O isomers in the gas phase. Phenol and cyclohexa-2,4-dienone are found not to interconvert following neutralization with mercury of their corresponding cation radicals at 9.9 keV kinetic energy. A very low extent of isomerization is observed following collisional activation of fast C₆H₆O neutrals with helium. The ⁺NR⁺ and collisionally activated dissociation spectra, the latter obtained at unit mass resolution, are used to identify these [C₆H₆O]^{+ ˙} isomers. Hexa-1,3,5-trienal is found to cyclize spontaneously to cyclohexa-2,4-dienone during attempted pyrolytic preparation. The thermochemistry of these C₆H₆O molecules and cation radicals is discussed on the basis of experimental data and MNDO calculations.     

Monitoring the Light-induced Isomerisation of the Prototypical Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons C10H8+ through Ion-Molecule Reactions

Structural rearrangements in ions are essential for understanding the composition and evolution of energetic and chemically active environments. This study explores the interconversion routes for simple polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, namely naphthalene and azulene radical cations (C₁₀H₈⁺), by combining mass spectrometry and vacuum ultraviolet tunable synchrotron radiation through the chemical monitoring technique. Products of ion-molecule reactions are used to probe C₁₀H₈⁺ structures that are formed as a function of their internal energies. Isomerisation from azulene radical cation towards naphthalene radical cation in a timescale faster than 80 μs was monitored, whereas no reverse isomerisation was observed in the same time window. When energising C₁₀H₈⁺ with more than 6 eV, the reactivity of C₁₀H₈⁺ unveils the formation of a new isomeric group with a contrasted reactivity compared with naphthalene and azulene cations. We tentatively assigned these structures to phenylvinylacetylene cations.     

Photodissociation and structures of [C6H4]+ ˙ ions generated from cyanobenzene and other precursors

Previous work on the electron impact induced loss of hydrogen cyanide from the radical cations of cyanobenzene has revealed that ring opening is important in the formation of the corresponding [C₆H₄]^{+ ˙} ions. Photodissociation experiments now show that these [C₆H₄]^{+ ˙} ions and those generated from 2-ethynylpyridine, 1,3-hexadiyn-6-nitrile and 1,2-diiodobenzene all photodissociate in the visible region to [C₄H₂]^{+ ˙}. The corresponding photodissociation spectra are all the same and have a maximum at about 370 nm, in agreement with spectra of ions with three conjugated double or triple bonds. Owing to the high reactivity, the low photodissociation rate and, possibly, the internal energy of the ions, the photodissociation kinetics are too complicated to be solved. The experiments nevertheless show that at least a major fraction of the [C₆H₄]^{+ ˙} ions has a ring-opened structure. This conclusion is supported by MNDO calculations, which indicate that the heats of formation of the possible acyclic structures are about 150 kJ mol^?1 lower than those of the o-, m- and p-benzyne structures.     

Photoionization and Dissociation Study of 2-Methyl-2-propen-1-ol: Experimental and Theoretical Insights

The photoionization and dissociation of 2-methyl-2-propen-1-ol (MPO) have been investigated by using molecular beam experimental apparatus with tunable vacuum ultravioletsynchrotron radiation in the photon energy region of 8.0-15.5 eV. The photoionization efficiency (PIE) curves for molecule ion and fragment ions: C₄H₈O⁺、C₄H₇O⁺、C₃H₅O⁺、C₄H₇⁺、C₄H₆⁺、C₄H₅⁺、C₂H₄O⁺、C₂H₃O⁺、C₃H₆⁺、C₃H₅⁺、C₃H₃⁺、CH₃O⁺、CHO⁺ have been measured, and the ionization energy (IE) and the appearance energies (AEs) of the fragment ions have been obtained. The stable species and the first order saddle points have been calculated on the CCSD(T)/cc-pvTZ//B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level. With combination of theoretical and experimental results, the dissociative photoionization pathways of 2-methyl-2-propen-1-ol are proposed. Hydrogen migrations within the molecule are the dominant processes in most of the fragmentation pathways of MPO.     

Mechanistic Aspects of the Gas‐Phase Reactions of Halobenzenes with Bare Lanthanide Cations: A Combined Experimental/Theoretical Investigation

The gas‐phase reactions of chlorobenzene with all atomic lanthanide cations Ln⁺ (except Pm⁺) have been investigated by using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry in conjunction with density functional theory calculations. According to the latter, a direct chlorine transfer to the lanthanide cation, which has been observed previously for fluorine abstraction from fluorobenzene, is not operative for the C₆H₅Cl/Ln⁺ couples; rather, chlorine transfer proceeds through an initial coordination of the lanthanide cation to the aromatic ring of the substrate. Both, the product distribution and the chlorine abstraction efficiencies are affected by the bond dissociation energy (BDE(Ln⁺?Cl)) as well as the promotion energies of Ln⁺ to attain a 4fⁿ 5d¹ 6s¹ configuration. In addition, mechanistic aspects of some C?H and C?C bond activations are presented. Where appropriate, comparison with the previously studied C₆H₅F/Ln⁺ systems is made.     

The question of cyclic versus acyclic ions: The structure of [C10H12]+˙ gas phase ions

The extent of isomerization of acyclic and cyclic gas phase radical cations of composition [C₁₀H₁₂]⁺˙ has been investigated by using collisionally activated dissociation spectroscopy. Both electron and charge exchange ionizaiton were employed to form the ions with various internal energies. The [C₁₀H₁₂]⁺˙ ions investigated consisted of ionized phenylbutenes, ring-substituted methyl derivatives of allylbenzene and phenylpropene, 1-methyl-2-isopropenylbenzene, benzylcyclopropane, phenylcyclobutane, tetralin and 1-methylindan. The 1-methylindan and tetralin radical cations are the most stable of the C₁₀H₁₂ isomeric radical ions. The [C₁₀H₁₂]⁺˙ formed from acyclic olefins having the double bond in conjugation with the aromatic ring retain the initial structure to a significant extent. However, ions derived from olefins with the double bond out of conjugation with the benzene ring preferentially cyclize to stable five- and six-membered cyclic ions. Ring opening of small-ring cyclic ions, such as ionized benzylcyclopropane and phenylcyclobutane, occurs, followed by ring closure to the tetralin radical cation.     

Theoretical Study of Isoprene Dissociative Photoionization

Theoretical calculations have been carried out to investigate the possible dissociation channels of isoprene. We focus on the major fragment ions of C₅H₇⁺,C₅H₅⁺,C₄H₅⁺,C₃H₆⁺,C₃H₅⁺,C₃H₄⁺,C₃H₃⁺ and C₂H₃⁺, which were observed experimentally from the isoprene dissociative photoionization. The energy calculations were performed with the CBS-QB3 model. All the geometries and energies of the fragments, intermediates and transition states involved in the dissociations channels were determined. Finally, the mechanisms of the dissociation pathways were discussed on the comparison of theoretical and experimental results.     

Ion—molecule reactions of CH+3 with acetonitrile at thermal translational energies

The 0.1 eV translational energy reactions of CH⁺₃ and CD⁺₃ with acetonitrile were studied in a tandem Dempster-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. Channels leading to CH₃CNH⁺ (7%), H₂CN⁺ (58%), and C₂H⁺₅ (35%) were observed. For CD⁺₃ reactant ions the H₂CN⁺ and C₂H⁺₅ products show evidence of complete H, D isotopic scrambling, suggesting an intermediate complex.     

Experimental and theoretical study on the photoionization of styrene

This study employed a vacuum ultraviolet synchrotron radiation source and reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) to investigate the photoionization and dissociation of styrene. By analyzing the photoionization mass spectrum and efficiency curve alongside G3B3 theoretical calculations, we determined the ionization energy of the molecular ion, appearance energy of fragment ions, and relevant dissociation pathways. The major ion peaks observed in the photoionization mass spectra of styrene correspond to C₈H₈⁺, C₈H₇⁺ and C₆H₆⁺. The ionization energy of styrene is measured as 8.46 ± 0.03 eV, whereas the appearance energies of C₈H₇⁺ and C₆H₆⁺ are found to be 12.42 ± 0.03 and 12.22 ± 0.03 eV, respectively, in agreement with theoretical values. The main channel for the photodissociation of styrene molecular ions is the formation of benzene ions, whereas the dissociation channel that loses hydrogen atoms is the secondary channel. Based on the experimental results and empirical formulas, the required dissociation energies (E_d) of C₈H₇⁺, C₈H₆⁺ and C₆H₆⁺ are calculated to be (3.96 ± 0.06), (4.00 ± 0.06) and (3.76 ± 0.06) eV, respectively. Combined with related thermochemical parameters, the standard enthalpies of formations of C₈H₈⁺, C₈H₇⁺, C₈H₆⁺ and C₆H₆⁺ are determined to be 964.2, 1346.3, 1350.2 and 1327.0 kJ/mol, respectively. Based on the theoretical study, the kinetic factors controlling the styrene dissociation reaction process are determined by using the Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus (RRKM) theory. This provides a reference for further research on the atmospheric photooxidation reaction mechanism of styrene in atmospheric and interstellar environments.