Metastable ion studies. IV—thermochemistry and ion structures among fragmenting [C3H6]+· ions

Metastable ion peak shapes, dimensions and relative abundances have been measured for the three fragmentations [C₃H₆]⁺· → [C₃H₄]⁺· + H₂, [C₃H₆]⁺· → [C₃H₅]⁺ + H· and [C₃H₆]⁺· → [C₃H₃]⁺ + H₂ + H·. [C₃H₆]⁺· ions were derived from propene, cyclopropane, tetrahydrofuran, cyclohexanone, 2-methyl but-1-ene and cis-pent-2-ene. Activation energies for these fragmentations have been evaluated. Three daughter ion dissociations ([C₃H₅]⁺ → [C₃H₃]⁺ + H₂, [C₃H₅]⁺ → [C₃H₄]⁺· + H· and [C₃H₄]⁺· → [C₃H₃]⁺ + H·) have been similarly examined. Ion structures have been determined and the metastable energy releases have been correlated with the thermochemical data. It is concluded that the molecular ions of propene and cyclopropane become structurally indistinguishable prior to fragmentation and that differences in their metastable ion characteristics can be ascribed wholly to internal energy differences; the latter can be correlated with the photoelectron spectra of the isomers. The pathway for the consecutive fragmentation which generates the metastable ion peak (m/e 42 → m/e.39) has been shown to be It is likewise concluded that fragmentating [C₃H₆]⁺· ions generated from the various precursor molecules are also structurally indistinguishable and cannot be classified with either molecular ion of the isomeric C₃H₆ hydrocarbons.     

Ion structural studies by ion kinetic energy spectrometry: [C7H7]+, [C7H8]+˙, [C7H7OCH3]+˙

The use of kinetic energy release measurements in the structural characterization of ions formed in the mass spectrometer and in the determination of fragmentation mechanisms is demonstrated. In combination with information on the mode of energy partitioning in some of these reactions this allows the following conclusions: (i) The metastable [C₇H₈]⁸˙ ions formed from toluene, cyclohepatatriene, n-butylbenzene, the three methyl anisoles, methyl tropyl ether and benzyl methyl ether all undergo loss of H˙ from a common structure. (ii) The metastable [C₇H₇]⁺ ions generated from the same sources and from benzyl bromide, benzyl alcohol, p-xylene and ethylbenzene appear to undergo loss of acetylene from both the benzylic and the tropylium structures. (iii) The metastable [C₇H₇OCH₃]⁺˙ ether molecular ions undergo loss of CH₃˙ by two types of mechanism, simple cleavage to give the aryloxy cation (not observed for benzyl methyl ether) and a rearrangement process which appears to lead to protonated tropone as the product. (iv) Loss of formaldehyde from the metastable [C₇H₇OCH₃]⁺˙ molecular ions involves hydrogen transfer via competitive 4- and 5-membered cyclic transition states in the case of the anisoles and in the case of methyl tropyl ether, while for benzyl methyl ether, hydrogen transfer in the nonisomerized molecular ion occurs via a 4-membered cyclic transition state to yield the cycloheptatriene molecular ion.     

Mass spectrometric decomposition processes of 2-methyl-1-hexene

Unimolecular decompositions of 2-methyl-1-hexene and several labelled analogues were studied following 70 eV electron impact (normal and metastable spectra) and field ionization (field ionization kinetic measurements). Molecules labelled with ¹³C in the 1-position and the methyl position were found to behave essentially identically. This is attributed to rapid transfer of a hydrogen atom mainly from C-5 to C-1 (γ-hydrogen shift). Loss of ethene, propene or propenyl do not involve loss of the methyl carbon or C-1. All three reactions are better than 90% specific in this respect under all conditions studied. At shorter times, C₃H₆ loss is the dominant reaction, while at longer times C₂H₆ loss accounts for >90% of the ion current. It is proposed that at least two distinct pathways for C₂H₄ loss operate in linear 1-alkenes, one of which (loss of carbons 1 and 2) is blocked by a 2-methyl substituent. The [C₆H₁₁]^+˙ and [C₅H₁₀]^+˙ ions formed from ¹³C labelled 2-methyl-1-hexenes fragment in an essentially statistical fashion.     

A photo-ionization study of organosulfur ring compounds: Thiirane,thietane and tetrahydrothiophene

The gas phase heats of formation of several organosulfur cations were determined from thiirane, thietane and tetrahydrothiophene precursor molecules by photoionization mass spectrometry. Heats of formation at 0 K and 298 K are reported for the following ions: [H₂CS]^+˙, [H₃CS]⁺, [C₂H₃S]⁺, [C₂H₄S]^+˙, [C₃H₅S]⁺, [C₃H₆S]^+˙, [C₄H₇S]⁺ and [C₄H₈S]^+˙. The [C₄H₇S]⁺ (m/z 87), [C₂H₄S]^+˙ (m/z 60), [C₂H₃S]⁺ (m/z 59), [C₄H₇]⁺ (m/z 55), [C₄H₆]^+˙ (m/z 54) and [CH₂S]^+˙ (m/z 46) ions are produced from metastable tetrahydrothiophene ions at photon energies between 10.2 and 10.7 eV. Decay rates of internal energy selected parent ions to the m/z 60, 59, 55 and 54 fragments were measured by threshold photoelectron-photoion coincidence, the results of which are compared to statistical theory (RRKM/QET) calculations. The [C₂H₄S]^+˙ ion from tetrahydrothiophene is found to have the thioacetaldehyde structure. From the measured [C₂H₄S]^+˙ onset a ΔH = 50±8 kJ mol^?1 was calculated for the thioacetaldehyde molecule.     

Elimination reactions of ions in the gas phase. IV—Comparative investigation of water elimination in odd and even electron hydroxyl cations of 6-undecanol

Reactivity differences between odd ([M]⁺) and even electron ions (α-cleavage product) were studied by comparing water elimination mechanisms in 6-undecanol. The compounds specifically labelled with deuterium in positions 6, 5 + 7, 4 + 8 and 3 + 9 were made, and a detailed investigation of tghe metastable ion transitions carried out. A highly specific 1,4 elimination of water without preceding intramolecular hydrogen exchange occurs from [M]⁺, but equal amounts of 1,3 and 1,4 elimination of water preceded by specific hydrogen exchange between -OH and the hydrocarbon chain occurs from the α-cleavage ion [M – C₅H₁₁]⁺ . To make such distinctions a thorough examination of metastable ions is essential.     

Electron impact studies—LXVII. The mass spectra of alkyl-1,3-dithianes

The mass spectra of 1,3-dithiane, 2-methyl- and 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dithiane have been studied by ²H labelling and metastable defocusing. The various molecular ions eliminate S₂H. to produce the ions [C₄H₇]⁺, [C₅H₉]⁺ and [C₆H₁₁]⁺ respectively, each of which scramble the hydrogens either before or accompanying further decomposition. Other processes are complex, but parallel those already reported for 2-aryl-1,3-dithianes.     

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.     

The mass spectra of isomeric hydrocarbons—I: Norbornene and nortricyclene; The mechanisms and energetics of their fragmentations

The mass spectra of norbornene, nortricyclene and deuterium labeled derivatives thereof have been studied. The appearance potentials of the ions [C₇H₁₀]^+·, [C₇H₉]⁺, [C₆H₇]⁺ and [C₅H₆]^+· have been determined for both compounds and heats of formation of the hydrocarbons have been estimated. Detailed fragmentation schemes are proposed for the molecular ions and it is concluded that they dissociate by essentially different mechanisms which do not involve common intermediates. The structures and energy contents of the primary fragment ions are discussed in detail by comparing energetics, labeling experiments and metastable ion abundances.     

[C6H6, C3H7 +]and [C6H7 +, C3H6] ion-neutral complexes intermediate in the reactions of protonated propylbenzenes

From the mass-analysed ion kinetic energy spectra of labelled ions, kinetic energy releases and thermodynamic data, it is proved that protonated n-propylbenzene (1) isomerizes into protonated isopropyl benzene (2). It is also shown that the dissociation of the less energetic metastable ions of (2), leading to [iso-C₃H₇]⁺ and [C₆H₇]⁺ product ions, is preceded by H exchange. This H exchange involves two interconverting ion-neutral complexes [C₆H₆, iso-C₃H₇⁺] (2π) and [C₆H₇⁺, C₃H₆] (2α).     

Hydrogen rearrangement in molecular ions of alkyl benzenes: Mechanism and time dependence of hydrogen migrations in molecular ions of 1, 3-diphenylpropane and deuterated analogues

Hydrogen migrations in the molecular ions of 1,3-diphenylpropane, preceding the fragmentations to [C₇H₇]⁺ and [C₇H₈]⁺ ions, have been investigated by use of deuterated derivatives. By comparing the distribution of deuterium labels in the [C₇(H, D)₈]⁺ products from metastable molecular ions with the distribution patterns calculated for various exchange models, it is shown that the H migrations occur by two processes linked by a common intermediate: (i) exchange between hydrogen isotopes at the γ-methylene group and at the ortho positions of the phenyl group: (ii) exchange between hydrogen isotopes at the ortho and orthó positions in the intermediate. In these mechanisms the eight hydrogen isotopes at both benzylic positions and both the ortho and orthó positions of 1,3-diphenylpropane participate in a mutual exchange. A statistical equipartition of the hydrogen isotopes at these eight positions is not reached in metastable molecular ions, however. The distribution pattern of [C₇(H, D)₈]⁺ ions from the deuterium labelled compounds as a function of the mean number n of exchange cycles has been calculated according to this reaction model and compared with experimental results for unstable molecular ions, generated by 70 eV and 12 eV electrons, respectively, and metastable molecular ions. Good agreement is obtained for all compounds and n = 0.4–0.8 for unstable molecular ions and n = 5–8 for metastable ions. Therefore, the hydrogen exchange in the molecular ion of 1,3-diphenylpropane is a rather slow process. These results firmly establish the isomerization reaction involving the conversion of the molecular ion of 1,3-diphenylmethane to the intermediate and hence to the molecular ion of 7-(2-phenylethyl)-5-methylene cyclohexa-1,3-diene and preceding the fragmentations. The postulated intermediate is a true one which corresponds to a s?-complex type ion and which fragments to [C₇H₈]⁺ ions. Surprisingly, no isomerizations of the intermediate by hydrogen shifts within the protonated aromatic system (‘ring walks’) are observed.     

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.     

Metastable ion studies. III—composite metastable peaks in fragmentations of some small hydrocarbon cations

Composite metastable peaks are generated in the unimolecular fragmentations (i) [C₃H₅]⁺ → [C₃H₃]⁺ + H₂ (flat-top upon flat-top) and (ii) [C₄H₉]⁺ → [C₃H₅]⁺ + CH₄ (flat-top and gaussian). The measurement of appearance potentials and kinetic energy releases lead us to conclude, in agreement with earlier proposals, that in (i) the components can arise from the generation of the isomeric cyclopropenium and propargyl daughter cations. In (ii) the components are proposed to arise from the fragmentation of tert- and sec-butyl cations yielding allyl as the common daughter ion. The composite peak observed in the fragmentation (iii) [C₃H₄]⁺· → [C₃H₃]⁺ + H· is shown to be present only if the decomposing molecular ion is large enough to also produce [C₆H₈]²⁺ ions. The second component in (iii) then arises from the reaction [C₆H₈]²⁺ → [C₆H₆]²⁺ + H₂.     

Energetics of the loss of H2 from [C3H7]+

The internal energies of [C₃H₇]⁺ ions contributing to the metastable peak [C₃H₇]⁺ → [C₃H₅]⁺ + H₂ are higher (by perhaps > 100 kJ mol^?1) than those of the ion contributing to the threshold current in appearance energy measurements on [C₃H₅]⁺. The measured appearance energy may lead to an underestimation of the activation energy, i.e. negative ‘kinetic shift’, due to quantum, mechanical tunnelling. The distribution of energy released in the decomposition can be explained on the basis that much of the reverse activation energy and a statistical proportion of the excess energy is released as translation.     

Isomerisation of hydrocarbon ions III–[C8H8]+·, [C8H8]2+, [C6H6]+· AND [C6H5]+ IONS

Collisional activation spectra of [C₈H₈]⁺·, [C₈H₈]²⁺, [C₆H₆]⁺· and [C₆H₅]⁺ ions from fifteen different sources are reported. Decomposing [C₈H₈]⁺· ions of ten of these precursors isomerise to a mixture of mainly the cyclooctatetraene and, to a smaller extent, the styrene structure. Three additional structures are observed with [C₈H₈]⁺· ions from the remaining precursors. [C₈H₈]^2+., [C₈H₈]⁺·, [C₆H₆]⁺· and [C₆H₅]⁺· ions mostly decompose from common structures although some exceptions are reported.     

The structures and formation of [C4H6N]+ ions 2—ion structures derived from 2-methylpropanenitrile

The loss of a hydrogen atom from ionized 2-methylpropanenitrile is preceded by a drastic rearrangement of the molecular ion. The result of this fragmentation is the generation of two stable structurally different [C₄H₆N]⁺ ions, formed via different pathways. Their structures can be established by a careful comparison of the metastable ion spectra, collision activation spectra, and charge stripping spectra from the compound and its three deuterium labeled analogues and from [C₄H₆N]⁺ ions generated from reference compounds via electron impact ionization or in selected ion/molecule reactions.     

Metastable ions in chemical ionization

The ion [C₃H₅]⁺ generated in a chemical ionization source by a variety of methods, including protonation and charge exchange, exhibits a metastable peak for H₂ loss which is two orders of magnitude weaker than that formed in an electron impact source. The stable [C₃H₅]⁺ ions generated by electron impact and chemical ionization undergo collision-induced dissociation to a comparable extent, both losing H₂ by only one of the two competitive mechanisms observed for metastable ions. In contrast to the behavior of [C₃H₅]⁺, the molecular ions of p-substituted nitrobenzene, generated by charge exchange at high source pressure, yield composite metastable peaks for NO loss which are very similar in shape and intensity to those generated by electron impact. The contrasting behavior of the metastable ions extracted from high pressure ion sources in the two systems may be due to differences in the efficiencies of quenching of the ionic states responsible for fragmentation as metastable ions. It is noteworthy that the NO loss reactions require considerably lower activation energies than does the H₂ loss reaction.     

Structure and mechanism of fragmentation of [C2H5O]+

The decomposition reactions of [C₂H₅O]⁺ ions produced by dissociative electron-impact ionization of 2-propanol have been studied, using ¹³C and deuterium labeling coupled with metastable intensity studies. In addition, the fragmentation reactions following protonation of appropriately labeled acetaldehydes and ethylene oxides with [H₃]⁺ or [D₃]⁺ have been investigated. In both studies particular attention has been paid to the reactions leading to [CHO]⁺, [C₂H₃]⁺ and [H₃O]⁺. In both the electron-impact-induced reactions and the chemical ionization systems the fragmentation of [C₂H₅O]⁺ to both [H₃O]⁺ and [C₂H₃]⁺ proceeds by a single mechanism. For each case the reaction involves a mechanism in which the hydrogen originally bonded to oxygen is retained in the oxygen containing fragment while the four hydrogens originally bonded to carbon become indistinguishable. The fragmentation of [C₂H₅O]⁺ to produce [CHO]⁺ proceeds by a number of mechanisms. The lowest energy route involves complete retention of the α carbon and hydrogen while a higher energy route proceeds by a mechanism in which the carbons and the attached hydrogens become indistinguishable. A third distinct mechanism, observed in the electron-impact spectra only, proceeds with retention of the hydroxylic hydrogen in the product ion. Detailed fragmentation mechanisms are proposed to explain the results. It is suggested that the [C₂H₅O]⁺ ions formed by protonation of acetaldehyde or ionization of 2-propanol are produced initially with the structure [CH₃CH?\documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + $\end{document}H] (a), but isomerize to [CH₂?CH? \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + $\end{document}H₂] (e) prior to decomposition to [C₂H₃]⁺ or [H₃O]⁺. The results indicate that the isomerization a → e does not proceed directly, possibly because it is symmetry forbidden, but by two consecutive [1,2] hydrogen shifts. A more general study of the electron-impact mass spectrum of 2-propanol has been made and the fragmentation reactions proceeding from the molecular ion have been identified.     

A study of the electron impact induced retro-diels-alder process with selected 5,6,6a, 7,12,12a-hexahydrobenzo[a]anthracenes

The mass spectra of 5,6,6a,7,12,12a-hexahydrobenzo[a]anthracene and 2-methoxy, 3-methoxy-, 4-methoxy and 1-methyl-4-methoxy derivatives are reported. Among the fragment ions observed under electron impact ionization, [C₈H₈]^+· and [M? C₈H₈]^+· can be generated by a retro-Diels-Alder process. Studies of metastable ion reactions show these ions to be formed by fragmentation directly from the molecular ion. The CA spectra of the [C₈H₈]^+· ions from the subject compounds were compared with spectra from ions of the same composition from various sources. From these data, kinetic energy release measurements and stereochemical considerations, it is concluded that these ions are formed by a stepwise, rather than a concerted mechanism.     

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.     

Metastable ion decomposition and collisional activation mass spectra of 1,2,3-triarylpropen-1-ones

Substituents have been found to have a marked influence on the metastable ion decompositions and collisionally activated (CA) fragmentations of the M⁺˙ ion of a number of 1,2,3-triarylpropen-1-ones. An attempt has been made to confirm the structures of the rearrangement ions, [C₁₄H₁₀]⁺˙, [C₁₃H₁₁]⁺˙, [C₁₃H₉]⁺ and [C₁₂H₈]⁺˙ by comparison of their CA spectra with those of the corresponding ions produced from reference compounds. The results imply that [C₁₄H₁₀]⁺˙ and the M⁺˙ ions of phenanthrene and diphenylacetylene have a common structure, [C₁₃H₉]⁺ and the fluorenyl cation have a common structure and [C₁₂H₈]⁺˙ and biphenylene molecular ion have a common structure. The available data indicate that the ion at m/z 167 consists of a mixture of structures, likely possibilities being diphenylmethyl, phenyltropylium and dihydrofluorenyl cations.