Carbon skeletal rearrangements in 2-phenylthiophene and 2,5-diphenylthiophene under conditions of electron-impact

The mass spectra of ¹³C-labelled 2-phenylthiophenes and 2,5-diphenylthiophenes were studied. The label distributions for the [HCS]⁺, [C₂H₂S]^+·, [C₈H₆]^+·, [C₉H₇]⁺ and [C₇H₅]S⁺ ions from 2-phenylthiophene and the [HCS]⁺, [C₉H₇]⁺, [C₇H₅S]^+·, and [C₁₅H₁₁]⁺ ions from 2,5-diphenylthiophene were interpreted in terms of both carbon skeletal rearrangements in the thiophene ring and migration of the phenyl substituent. The degree of carbon scrambling in the thiophene ring appeared to be almost independent of the electron beam energy. The formation of some of the fragment ions studied seems to be so fast that no carbon scrambling could be detected at all; in neither case was complete scrambling of the carbon atoms of the thiophene ring observed.     

High resolution mass spectrometry—V: Cyclic esters of aliphatic α-hydroxy acids

The main fragmentation sequences of glycollide and its homologues are initiated by fission of a CO? O bond, leading to the formation of fragment ions of low, m/e, such as [R¹CO]⁺ and [CR¹R²CCO]⁺. When a hydrogen atom is present on a ring carbon atom, 1,3 hydrogen migration occurs to produce [CHR²OH]⁺. In case where a ring carbon atom carries an alkylchain ? C₂H₅, a McLafferty rearrangement occurs with the adjacent carbonyl group. When both ring carbon atoms are dimethyl substituted, a 1,4 hydrogen migration must be invoked to account for the observed fragmentation sequence.     

Mass spectrometry of pyridine compounds–IV: The formation and decomposition of the [M – methyl]+ ion [C8H10N]+ from 4-t-butylpyridine in comparison with that of the [M – methyl]+ ion [C9H11]+ from t-butylbenzene,as studied by D- and 13C-labelling

A strong secondary isotope effect is observed in the preferred loss of methyl vs. trideutero-methyl from the molecular ions of appropriately labelled 4-t-butylpyridine and t-butylbenzene decomposing in the first and second field free regions of a double focusing mass spectrometer. This has been rationalised by invoking the theory of radiationless transitions², which can account for the higher population of activated states responsible for loss of methyl vs. that for trideuteromethyl. ¹³C-Labelling at the central carbon atom of the t-butyl group indicates that the [M – methyl]⁺ ions, decomposing further by elimination of ethylene, cannot be represented exclusively by a pyridylated (or phenylated) cyclopropane ion if present at all. It is concluded that ions with structures generated by 1,2-hydrogen-, 1,2-pyridyl- (or 1,2-phenyl-) and 1,2-methyl shifts must also play a role. D-labelling further shows an extensive randomisation of side-chain hydrogen atoms in the [M-methyl]⁺ ions of 4-t-butylbenzene; in this case, however, the expelled ethylene also contains ring hydrogen atoms (≤2). Presumably this is caused by exchange between the side-chain and ortho-hydrogen atoms in the initially generated phenyldimethylcarbinyl carbenium ion.     

The formation of [C9H10]+˙ ions by loss of a molecule of water from molecular ions of 3-phenylpropanol with lifetimes of 10−11 to 10−5 s

Field ionization kinetic experiments in conjunction with deuterium labelling have been shown that the molecular ions of 3-phenylpropanol with lifetimes as short as 10^?11s lose a molecule of water via a specific 1,3 elimination. At times > 10^?11s two distinct hydrogen interchange processes in the molecular ions appear to complete with this reaction. One of the intechange processes involves the benzylic and hydroxylic hydrogen atoms and starts to complete with the elimination of water at shorter molecular ion lifetimes than the other interchange process in which the ortho hydrogen atoms also participate. Decomposing [C₉H₁₀]^+˙ ions generated by elimination of water from the molecular ions of 3-phenylpropanol or by direct ionization of various isomeric C₉H₁₀ compounds could not be distinguished adequately, illustrating isomerization either to a common ion structure or to a set of ions with rapidly interconverting structures. A consideration of the energetics of the elimination of water from 3-phenylpropanol suggests that at threshold energies 1-phenylpropene or indane type structures can be formed. Arguments for the latter have been obtained from the observation that a labile fluorine atom is present in the [M – H₂O]^+˙ ions generated from 3-pentafluoro-phenylpropanol.     

The mass spectrum of isopropyl o-toluate

The formation of an [M + 1]⁺ ion and the fragmentation of isopropyl o-toluate have been investigated by the deuterium labelling technique and kinetic energy release measurements. The hydrogen atom involved in the [M + 1]⁺ ion formation does not originate from a specific part of the molecule, but from all parts. A small amount of hydrogen exchange between the secondary carbon atom in the isopropyl group and the carbon atoms in the tolyl group takes place prior to decomposition of the molecular ion into the m/z 136 ion by a McLafferty rearrangement. Either almost complete scrambling of the hydroxyl hydrogen atom and the methyl hydrogen atoms in tolyl group or an almost equilibrated exchange of the hydroxyl hydrogen atom with one of the remaining hydrogen atoms in tolyl group also takes place prior to the elimination of a water molecule from the intermediate m/z 136 ion.     

Degenerate skeletal rearrangement and energy partitioning in the fragmentation of the norbornyl cation

The electron-impact-induced fragmentation of a ¹³C labelled exo-2-norbornyl chloride has been studied. When the norbornyl cation, [C₇H₁₁]⁺, [M – Cl], dissociates by elimination of C₂H₄, carbon atoms are randomly lost showing that extensive skeletal rearrangement (in addition to the complete hydrogen atom scrambling reported earlier) has taken place in the norbornyl cation prior to dissociation. The metastable ion peak associated with the above fragmentation consists of superimposed gaussian and flat-top components; it is proposed that these correspond to the formation of isomeric [C₅H₇]₊ daughter ions whose heats of formation differ by ～0.4 eV.     

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.     

ÄThylen-Eliminierung aus dem [C7H11]+-Ion des 4.4-Dimethylpentin-(2)-Ylchlorids-(1)

Using ¹³C and ²H labelling it is shown that the elimination of ethylene from the [M-Cl]⁺ ion of the title compound is preceded by a complete carbon and hydrogen scrambling. The extent of the isomerization reactions does not depend upon the lifetime of the decomposing [C₇H₁₁]⁺ ions.     

Repeller-Induced dissociation of alkyl alcohols in thermospray mass spectrometry

Six alkyl alcohols were studied using thermospray mass Spectrometry. Whereas the dominant ion in the spectrum up to a repeller potential of 120 V was [M + NH₄]⁺, above that potential [M + H]⁺ and fragment ions appeared. The fragments observed were largely due to hydrogen release from alkyl ions ([C_nH_2n+1]⁺ – H2 → [C_nH_2n-1]⁺) and loss of water or some other stable molecule from the same species. The results are compared with those from ionization of the same alcohols under electron impact and photoionization conditions and with results obtained for methanol under thermospray conditions.     

Fragmentation of collisionally activated hydroxyphenoxide anions in the gas phase

Low-energy collisionally activated dissociation of O-deprotonated dihydroxybenzenes (catechol, resorcinol, hydroquinone) in the gas phase causes both fragmentation to form [C₆H₄O₂]^– ions by loss of the remaining oxygen-bound hydrogen atom and intramolecular hydrogen atom migration from O to C. The rearranged anions then undergo ring-cleavage reactions which are different in each case. Both catechol and hydroquinone produce fragments which are the result of the loss of two carbon atoms and both oxygen atoms but the proposed mechanisms are different. Resorcinol also produces a fragment which derives from the loss of carbon dioxide. For this process a mechanism is proposed which involves a 6-methylpyranone anion intermediate.     

Ring expansion and hydrogen scrambling in the molecular ion of 3-methylthiophene

The ratio [M ? D]/{[M-D] + [M ? H]} in the 70 eV mass spectra of six deuterated 3-methylthiophenes has been determined. From these values the mole fractions of the molecular ions that lose hydrogen atoms specifically from the various positions of the molecule were calculated, as well as the mole fraction in which the hydrogen atoms are fully scrambled before hydrogen elimination. It appears that hydrogen atoms are mainly lost from a fully scrambled [C₅H₆S]⁺· ion and from the α-position of the original molecular ion. A deuterium isotope effect of 1·60 to 1·72 was calculated for the hydrogen elimination. The reaction was also studied at low electron energies. In order to determine the degree of scrambling in the [C₅H₅S]⁺ ions, some decomposition reactions of this ion were investigated.     

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.     

The mass spectra of isomeric hydrocarbons—II: The C5H8S isomers,spiropentane, cyclopentene, 1,3-pentadiene and isoprene; The mechanisms and energetics of their fragmentations

The mass spectra of spiropentane, cyclopentene, 1,3-pentadiene (piperylene), isoprene and some deuterium labelled analogues have been studied. The heats of formation of the molecular ions and the major daughter ions [C₅H₇]⁺ and [C₄H₅]⁺ have been estimated. Fragmentation of these molecules mostly proceeds via common intermediates in which hydrogen atoms have lost their positional identity. Only spiropentane displays any specific fragmentation behaviour related to its ground state geometry.     

Methane Activation by Diatomic Molybdenum Carbide Cations

Metal carbide species have been proposed as a new type of chemical entity to activate methane in both gas‐phase and condensed‐phase studies. Herein, methane activation by the diatomic cation MoC⁺ is presented. MoC⁺ ions have been prepared and mass‐selected by a quadrupole mass filter and then allowed to interact with methane in a hexapole reaction cell. The reactant and product ions have been detected by a reflectron time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer. Bare metal Mo⁺ and MoC₂H₂⁺ ions have been observed as products, suggesting the occurrence of ethylene elimination and dehydrogenation reactions. The branching ratio of the C₂H₄ elimination channel is much larger than that of the dehydrogenation channel. Density functional theory calculations have been performed to explore in detail the mechanism of the reaction of MoC⁺ with CH₄. The computed results indicate that the ethylene elimination process involves the occurrence of spin conversions in the C?C coupling (doublet→quartet) and hydrogen atom transfer (quartet→sextet) steps. The carbon atom in MoC⁺ plays a key role in methane activation because it becomes sp³ hybridized in the initial stages of the ethylene elimination reaction, which leads to much lower energy barriers and more stable intermediates. This study provides insights into the C?H bond activation and C?C coupling involved in methane transformation over molybdenum carbide‐based catalysts.     

A 15N labelling,FD and FAB study of ammonia loss from protonated arginine molecules

The positive ion field desorption (FD) spectrum of arginine taken at the best anode temperature only contains a peak due to [M+H]⁺ ions. At higher emitter temperatures a considerable amount of fragmentation is induced and the [M+H NH₃]⁺ ions become most abundant. Specific ¹⁵N labelling reveals that the eliminated ammonia molecule, exclusively, contains one of the terminal nitrogen atoms of the guanidyl group. This also applies to the ammonia loss from metastably decomposing [M+H]⁺ ions. The positive ion fast atom bombardment (FAB) spectrum shows more fragmentation than the FD spectrum. In contrast with the FD results, the [M+H]⁺ ions generated upon FAB with ion lifetimes <10⁻⁶ s eliminate both ammonia containing one of the terminal nitrogen atoms of the guanidyl group and ammonia containing the α-amino group in the ratio of 1.35, as found by ¹⁵N labelling. The metastably decomposing [M+H]⁺ ions, however, eliminate only the former ammonia molecule. In the negative ion FD and FAB spectra no other peak than that corresponding to the [M H]⁻ ion is observed. Some attention has been paid to the thermal degradation of arginine on the basis of a few Curie-point pyrolysis experiments.     

Bromidobis[2‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)methanol‐κ2N,O]copper(II) bromide monohydrate

The title compound, [CuBr(C₆H₇NO)₂]Br·H₂O, is an ionic mononuclear complex in which the [CuBr(C₆H₇NO)₂]⁺ cation possesses distorted square‐pyramidal geometry. The Cu^II centre is coordinated by two neutral 2‐(pyridin‐2‐yl)methanol (2‐pyMeOH) ligands and a terminal bromide ligand. The 2‐pyMeOH ligands are coordinated in a bidentate chelating manner through the pyridine N and hydroxy O atoms, forming a five‐membered chelate ring with the Cu^II centre. The planes of the pyridine rings are twisted by 58.71 (14)° with respect to each other. The charge is balanced by a noncoordinating bromide anion which, together with a solvent water molecule, links the components through hydrogen bonds into infinite chains propagating along the a axis. The mononuclear cations appear to associate in pairs through weak interactions between the metal atom of one cation and the halogen atom of an adjacent cation.     

Mass spectrometry of coordination compounds of transition metals with tetradentate ligands. 11. isomeric quasi-macrocyclic Ni(II) complexes based on S-substituted isothiocarbohydrazides and the structure of “small” ions derived from them

Two series of bonding isomers of Ni(II) coordination compounds with tetradentate quasimacrocyclic ligands based on S-substituted isothiocarbohydrazides were characterized by electron impact (EI) mass spectrometry and by tandem mass spectrometry methods. Conventional EI mass spectra were more isomer specific than metastable ion (MI) and collision induced dissociation (CID) mass spectra of the molecular ions. The MI (and CID) mass spectra of the isomers were very similar. This effect resulted from a facile randomization of Ni–N bonds in the ions possessing low internal energies, prior to their dissociation. The compounds were found to be convenient precursors for coordinatively unsaturated metal-containing ions, [NiL_n]⁺ and [RNiL_n]⁺ (n = 1, 2; L = NCCH₃, NCSCH₃; R = OH, NO). Most of these species had a structure of mono- or disolvated nickel ion. The dissociation of [HONiNCCH₃]⁺ ions was consistent with the formation of two isomers: one corresponding to the [HONi]⁺ ion solvated by acetonitrile and the other is a complex of H₂O with [NiNCCH₂]⁺. A structure of [HO,Ni,(NCCH₃)₂]⁺ ions was best represented by a five-membered cycle formed by two acetonitrile units and the metal atom with the OH group attached to one of the nitrogen atoms.     

Self‐Assembled Multimetallic/Peptide Complexes: Structures and Unimolecular Reactions of [Mn(GlyGly−H)2n−1]+ and Mn+1(GlyGly−H2n]2+ Clusters in the Gas Phase

The unimolecular chemistry and structures of self‐assembled complexes containing multiple alkaline‐earth‐metal dications and deprotonated GlyGly ligands are investigated. Singly and doubly charged ions [M_n(GlyGly?H)_n‐1]⁺ (n=2–4), [M_n+1(GlyGly?H)_2n]²⁺ (n=2,4,6), and [M(GlyGly?H)GlyGly]⁺ were observed. The losses of 132 Da (GlyGly) and 57 Da (determined to be aminoketene) were the major dissociation pathways for singly charged ions. Doubly charged Mg²⁺ clusters mainly lost GlyGly, whereas those containing Ca²⁺ or Sr²⁺ also underwent charge separation. Except for charge separation, no loss of metal cations was observed. Infrared multiple photon dissociation spectra were the most consistent with the computed IR spectra for the lowest energy structures, in which deprotonation occurs at the carboxyl acid groups and all amide and carboxylate oxygen atoms are complexed to the metal cations. The N?H stretch band, observed at 3350 cm^?1, is indicative of hydrogen bonding between the amine nitrogen atoms and the amide hydrogen atom. This study represents the first into large self‐assembled multimetallic complexes bound by peptide ligands.     

On the unimolecular loss of acetylene from metastable C11H9]+ ions

Extensive ¹³C labelling experiments demonstrate that loss of acetylene from metastable [C₁₁H₉]⁺ ions is a complex process, which can be described quantitatively in terms of a four-parameter model. The major reaction path (77.8%) involves scrambling of all 11 carbon atoms. Insight into the reaction details is provided neither by the kinetic energy release associated with the reaction [C₁₁H₉]⁺ → [C₉H₇]⁺ + C₂H₂ nor by the analysis of the collisional activation mass spectra of the resulting [C₉H₇]⁺ ions.     

On the Origin of the Remarkably Variable Reactivities of [AlCeOx]+ (x=2–4) towards Methane as a Function of Oxygen Content

The thermal gas‐phase reactions of the closed‐shell heteronuclear metal–oxide clusters [AlCeO_x]⁺ (x =2–4) with methane have been explored by FT‐ICR mass spectrometry and high‐level quantum‐chemical calculation. Whereas [AlCeO₂]⁺ and [AlCeO₄]⁺ are inert towards methane under ambient conditions, [AlCeO₃]⁺ spontaneously abstracts one hydrogen atom from methane. Mechanistic aspects have been addressed to reveal the reasons for the rather distinct reactivities of the [AlCeO_x]⁺/CH₄ couples, and the electronic origins of the unprecedented single hydrogen‐atom abstraction from methane by closed‐shell [AlCeO₃]⁺ are discussed.