Kinetic shifts and metastable transitions

Differences in the appearance potentials of normal fragment ions and of metastable transitions leading to the formation of the same fragment ions have been measured in the mass spectra of a number of compounds. The differences varied from 0.1 to 1.0 eV and were attributed to the measurable part of the kinetic shift. An approximate correlation was found between the intensity of a ‘metastable peak’ and the observed difference in appearance potentials, and it is suggested that the full kinetic shift for processes giving rise to intense ‘metastable peaks’ is substantially larger than the measurable part. The implications of this in thermochemical calculations are discussed.     

A density-functional study on the formation of Mo(2)2+

The presence of metastable states in the doubly ionized molybdenum dimer is studied using gradient-corrected scalar-relativistic density-functional theory. Seventeen metastable states are found within an energy range of less than 6.5 eV. All those states show lifetimes large enough to assure experimental detection. The calculation of the second adiabatic ionization potential of the neutral molybdenum dimer seems to confirm that the doubly ionized dimer is produced by the electron-capture process Mo2++Ar+-->Mo2(2+)+Ar, in which the ionization potentials of Ar and Mo2+ play a crucial role [K. Franzreb, R. C. Sobers, Jr., J. Lorincik, and P. Williams, J. Chem. Phys. 120, 7983 (2004)]. Moreover, the present results indicate that other species having ionization potentials between 13.01 and 15.34 eV could be used as projectiles to produce Mo(2)2+. It is also shown that Xe+ ions could not react with Mo2+ to produce double ionized dimers. A simple thermodynamic argument is also proposed that seems to increase the possibilities of forming Mo2(2+) from Mo2+ by using Ar+ as projectile ions.     

Mass spectrometric studies of structural isomers—II: Mono-and bicyclic C6H10 molecules

The electron-impact-induced ionization and fragmentation of six C₆H₁₀ structural isomers have been studied in order to determine the effect of isomerism upon their mass spectrometric behavior. The 70 eV mass spectra, metastable transitions and appearance potentials of the principal ions are reported. Significant differences between the mass spectra of the six isomers were observed; however, metastable transition and appearance potential data indicate that the fragmentation path-ways are the same for all the C₆H₁₀ molecules. Experimentally determined ionization potentials for the structural isomers are presented and compared to ionization potentials calculated by the bond orbital method. Utilizing fragmentation pathways deduced from general features in the mass spectra and from observed metastable transitions, we calculated heats of formation (ΔH_f) for the observed principal ions and compared these values to ΔH_f values for isomeric ions from other molecules.     

Multiply charged ions in the mass spectra of aromatics

The prominence of multiply charged molecular and fragment ions upon electron-impact in the mass spectrometer is proposed as an experimental, empirical indication of aromatic character. The effects of electron withdrawing and donating substituents on the production of multiply charged ions are considered and appearance potentials are noted for several species.     

Photoionisation mass spectra of volatile derivatives of short peptides and appearance potentials of their characteristic ions

Mass spectra of the volatile derivatives of short peptides were studied by the photoionisation method with the use of monochromatic photons. The dependence of the intensity of the main peaks on the photon energy was analysed from 7·5 to 13·0 eV. The data obtain reveal the influence of the chemical structure of amino acid residues on the relative probability of the decomposition of peptide molecular ions at the CH? CO and CO? NH bonds, resulting in the formation of positively charged aldimine and amino acid N-terminal fragments, respectively. These data may be used as a basis for the application of the photoionisation technique to mass spectrometric sequential studies in peptides. In peptides containing residues of aliphatic amino acid the decomposition results mainly in the formation of aldimine ions, the stability of which increase with the increase of the alkyl chain size. In peptides containing residues of aromatic amino acids the decomposition is usually observed leading to formation of the amino acid ions. Ionisation potentials, as well as photoionisation efficiency curves and appearance potentials were determined for characteristic ions. Comparison was made of the values of the appearance potentials of different fragments formed upon decomposition of molecular ions. It has been shown that for peptides containing aliphatic amino acid moieties the appearance potentials of aldimine fragments are always lower than those inherent to peptides containing aromatic amino acid residues. The larger the size of an aliphatic chain, the lower is the energy of formation of these fragments. For all the compounds studied, including the peptides containing aromatic amino acid residues, the appearance potentials of the aldimine ions did not exceed those of the amino acid ions. These data indicate that, contrary to the experiments with electron-impact with energy of about 70 eV, upon ionisation with photons with energy from 7·5 to 13·0 eV, the aldimine fragments appear directly due to primary decomposition of molecular ions, independent of the formation of the amino acid fragments. The photoionisation efficiency curves for peptides containing different types of amino acid residues facilitate the choice of an optimal photon energy providing unequivocal information on the amino acid sequence in the peptide under study.     

Ab initio-based intermolecular carbon-carbon pair potentials for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon clusters

We derived the carbon-carbon pair potentials for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) clusters, which exhibited a strikingly similar geometry to that of the two-layer graphite. The binding energy of PAH clusters ranging in size from the benzene dimer to the pyrene dimer obtained by ab initio calculations at the MP2 level was used to extract the pair potentials in the form of the Lennard-Jones and Exponential-6 functions. Identical binding energy and equilibrium interlayer distance were reproduced by these functions to those calculated by the ab initio method. The pair potentials for PAHs yield the same equilibrium C-C distance as the known pair potentials for graphite and fullerenes, but nearly twice the well depth because of the polarization of the C-H bond.     

Zum Mechanismus massenspektrometrischer Fragmentierungsreaktionen: XIII—Einfluß der Dissoziationsenergie auf intramolekulare aromatische Substitutionen in den Molekül-Ionen von N,N-Dimethyl-N′-phenylformamidinen

The effect of the dissociation energy of the C? X bond (X = H, F, Cl, Br, I) on the formation of benzimidazolium ions (b) by elimination of X from the molecular ions of ortho-substituted N,N-dimethyl-N′-phenylformamidines (I to V) has been investigated. No simple relation is observed between the intensities of ions b and the dissociation energy. Furthermore, the appearance potentials of ions b are not greatly affected by the dissociation energy, although differences of about 2.5 eV are expected for a simple cleavage reaction. The behaviour of the molecular ions of I to V is in accord with a two step addition-dissociation mechanism [M]⁺· → a → b, and the highest activation energy is required in the first addition step. Similar mechanisms are known for aromatic substitution reactions in the condensed phase, but have not been observed for mass spectrometric fragmentations. The detection of additional kinetic energy T in the reaction products by an analysis of the metastable transitions [M]⁺· → b corroborates the proposed mechanism.     

Über die Massenspektroskopische Untersuchung von Diimin und seinen Deuterierungsprodukten

Mass Spectroscopic Investigation of Diimide and its Deutero Products The formation of mono and dideuterodiimide was investigated by spectroscopic means. By high resolution techniques the deuterated products could be identified and their mode of formation ascertained from the isotope-distribution. The stabilities of the molecular and fragment ions were estimated from ionization and appearance potentials. Appearance potentials (electron-impactionizations) were estimated. The field ionization spectra indicate the thermally induced disproportionation of the formed diimide. By measuring the metastable transitions according to the DADI method a fragmentation scheme for diimide can be specified.     

Ionization and dissociation of C6F6 isomers under electron impact

The mass spectra of hexafluorobenzene, hexafluorobicyclo[2.2.0]hexa-2,5-diene (perfluoro-Dewar benzene) and 1,1,1,6,6,6-hexafluorohexa-2,4-diyne, and the fragmentation mechanisms of their parent ions are reported. The behaviour of the two cyclic isomers under electron impact is very similar; the linear one behaves quite differently. The ionization potentials of the molecules and the appearance potentials of the fragment ions (both normal and metastable) have been measured. The heats of formation of [C₆F₅]⁺ and [C₅F₃]⁺ are calculated. A value for the heat of formation of 1,1,1,6,6,6-hexafluorohexa-2,4-diyne is proposed.     

The metastable formation of di-ethylchloronium ions from ethylchloride dimer ions in a seeded molecular beam

Cluster ions of ethylchloride and their dissociation products have been produced in a supersonic expansion of ethylchloride seeded in Ar and energy selected by the threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence (TPEPICO) method. The peak widths of the ion time of flight distribution indicate that all of the clusters are produced by dissociative photoionization of higher order clusters. Thus, trimer ions dissociate to form dimer ions and an ethylchloride monomer. This dimer ion was found to be metastable with respect to the formation of the di-ethylchloronium ion and a chlorine atom. The measured dissociation rate as a function of the dimer ion internal energy was compared to the calculated rates based on the statistical RRKM/QET theory. Good agreement was found when the dimer adiabatic IP was assumed to be 10.2 eV. The Cl loss from the ethylchloride dimer ion is associated with a reverse activation energy of about 0.32 eV.     

Mass spectra of pyridazines and their N-oxides

The mass spectra of pyridazines and their N-oxides is reported. Previous electron impact studies on aromatic amine N-oxides reported the appearance of M-16 and/or M-17 ion peaks as the usual feature of the fragmentations. In our experiments, the representative fragmentation of the pyridazine N-oxides involves formation of a M-30 (M-NO) ion. The fragmentation patterns substantiated by extensive high resolution studies and the analysis of the appropriate metastable ions.     

A metastable ion study of the electron impact fragmentation of some substituted 2,6-pyrido-containing crown ethers

Extensive networks of metastable ions link the major peaks in the electron impact mass spectra of two crown ethers containing 2,6-pyrido units. High-resolution mass measurements and the metastable peaks allow the elucidation of the fragmentation pathways. The spectra are influenced more by the presence of aromatic substituents than by the 2,6-pyrido units.     

Statistical Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus quasiequilibrium theory calculations in mass spectrometry

The statistical theory [Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus quasiequilibrium theory (RRKM/QET)] for calculating dissociation rate constants is explained and its implementation is outlined with sample computer programs. The energy deposition involved in various types of ionization processes is discussed and related to the appearance of the mass spectrum. The RRKM/QET calculations are used to explain the kinetic shift and its effect on the observed onset for fragmentations in the halobenzene ions. Direct dissociation versus rearrangement reactions are discussed in terms of the dissociation rates and the observation of metastable ions. Finally, it is shown how an average rate constant can be obtained from metastable peak intensities as a function of the ion extraction voltage in a conventional mass spectrometer.     

The ion kinetic energy spectra of some aromatic hydrocarbons

The technique of ion kinetic energy spectroscopy has been applied to the study of the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene, naphthalene, 2-methyl naphthalene, biphenyl and anthracene. The method is illustrated by a complete study of naphthalene in which transitions of metastable doubly- and singly-charged ions are listed, including reactions in which singly-charged ions are formed by collision induced charge-exchange reactions of doubly-charged ions and by the double process of charge-exchange and metastable decomposition with loss of one or two hydrogen atoms. Decompositions of doubly-charged ions into two singly-charged ions, together with the kinetic energies released in these decompositions, are also given for all the compounds studied.     

Elektronenstossinduzierte Fragmentierung von Acetylenverbindungen. IX—Struktur der Stabilen [C9H11]+-Ionen aus Isomeren C9H11-Chloriden

The structure of stable [C₉H₁₁]⁺ ions from different model compounds with the molecular formula C₉H₁₁Cl has been estimated by energy measurements. It has further been shown that acetylenic compounds cyclise to form aromatic ions in the range of the appearance potentials.     

Peptide sequencing by matrix-assisted laser-desorption mass spectrometry.

A novel method of peptide sequencing by mass spectrometry is described. Metastable decay of laser-desorbed ions, taking place in the first field-free drift region of a reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer, has been monitored to get structural information from larger peptides. Fragment ions from metastable decay are mass analysed by adjusting the potentials of the ion reflectron according to the kinetic energies of the ions. The features of the technique and its significance for future applications are outlined.     

Beyond the benzene dimer: an investigation of the additivity of pi-pi interactions

The benzene dimer is the simplest prototype of pi-pi interactions and has been used to understand the fundamental physics of these interactions as they are observed in more complex systems. In biological systems, however, aromatic rings are rarely found in isolated pairs; thus, it is important to understand whether aromatic pairs remain a good model of pi-pi interactions in clusters. In this study, ab initio methods are used to compute the binding energies of several benzene trimers and tetramers, most of them in 1D stacked configurations. The two-body terms change only slightly relative to the dimer, and except for the cyclic trimer, the three- and four-body terms are negligible. This indicates that aromatic clusters do not feature any large nonadditive effects in their binding energies, and polarization effects in benzene clusters do not greatly change the binding that would be anticipated from unperturbed benzene-benzene interactions, at least for the 1D stacked systems considered. Three-body effects are larger for the cyclic trimer, but for all systems considered, the computed binding energies are within 10% of what would be estimated from benzene dimer energies at the same geometries.     

Theoretical modeling of postionization fragmentation of rare-gas trimer cations

The dynamics of ionic rare-gas trimers (Ar(3) (+), Kr(3) (+), and Xe(3) (+)) produced by a sudden ionization of neutral precursors is investigated theoretically with a hybrid classical-quantum method for solving the equations of motion governed by a Hamiltonian obtained from a previously tested diatomics-in-molecules model. Initial conditions are selected with Monte Carlo sampling. Two possibilities for generating the initial electronic state are considered: diabatic (local) and adiabatic (delocalized). The dynamics generally leads to fragmentation, producing either monomer ions or dimer ions in a relatively short time; however, a large number of long-lived metastable trimer ions are also seen in some cases. We have analyzed the dynamics with respect to the fraction of monomer ions produced, the distribution of the kinetic energy of the products, and the distribution of fragmentation times of the trimers. Initial diabatic ionization is associated with much faster fragmentation than adiabatic ionization. Spin-orbit coupling plays an important role in the fragmentation dynamics.     

Benzene clusters in a supersonic beam

A supersonic beam is employed to produce benzene clusters (C₆H₆) _n up ton=40. Mass analysis is achieved after two-photon ionization in a reflectron mass spectrometer. Photon energy is chosen so that the internal energy of the cluster ions is less than 700 meV and a slow decay on the µs time scale is observed. By an energy analysis with the reflecting field it is found that the elimination of one neutral benzene monomer is the favoured dissociation process of the cluster ions. Information about the dissociation pathways of the cluster ions is essential if one is to obtain neutral cluster abundances from the ion mass spectrum. Furthermore an experimental method is presented to obtain pure intermediate state (S ₁←S₀) spectra of selected clusters without interferences from the other clusters present in the molecular beam. This method is based on the observation of the metastable decay of the corresponding cluster ion. When the metastable signal is recorded as a function of photon energy it reflects theS ₁←S ₀ intermediate state spectrum. Spectra are presented for the benzene dimer, trimer, tetramer and pentamer.     

Elektronenstossinduzierte Fragmentierung von Acetylenverbindungen—VIII:. Struktur der stabilen und instabilen Ionen [C9H9]+ aus isomeren C9H10-Kohlenwasserstoffen

The appearance potentials of [C₉H₉]⁺ have been estimated and the enthalpy of formation, calculated from the data, is correlated with different structural proposals. Open chain structures can be eliminated in favour of aromatic ones (vinyltropylium or indanyl cation). The structure of the unstable [C₉H₉]⁺ ions is investigated by means of ¹³C-labelled compounds. The results are also in agreement with the acceptance of aromatic structures.