Structure and formation of gaseous [C4H6O]+˙ ions: 1—The enolic ions [CH2C(OH)?CHCH2]+˙ and [CH2CH?CHCH(OH)]+˙ and their relationship with their keto counterparts

The [C₄H₆O]^+˙ ion of structure [CH₂?CHCH?CHOH]^+˙ (a) is generated by loss of C₄H₈ from ionized 6,6-dimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-ol. The heat of formation ΔH_f of [CH₂?CHCH?CHOH]^+˙ was estimated to be 736 kJ mol^?1. The isomeric ion [CH₂?C(OH)CH?CH₂]^+˙ (b) was shown to have ΔH_f, ? 761 kJ mol^?1, 54 kJ mol^?1 less than that of its keto analogue [CH₃COCH?CH₂]^+˙. Ion [CH₂?C(OH)CH?CH₂]^+˙ may be generated by loss of C₂H₄ from ionized hex-1-en-3-one or by loss of C₄H₈ from ionized 4,4-dimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-ol. The [C₄H₆O]^+˙ ion generated by loss of C₂H₄ from ionized 2-cyclohexen-1-ol was shown to consist of a mixture of the above enol ions by comparing the metastable ion and collisional activation mass spectra of [CH₂?CHCH?CHOH]^+˙ and [CH₂?C(OH)CH?CH₂]^+˙ ions with that of the above daughter ion. It is further concluded that prior to their major fragmentations by loss of CH₃˙ and CO, [CH₂?CHCH?CHOH]⁺˙ and [CH₂?C(OH)CH?CH₂]^+˙ do not rearrange to their keto counterparts. The metastable ion and collisional activation characteristics of the isomeric allenic [C₄H₆O]^+˙ ion [CH₂?C?CHCH₂OH]^+˙ are also reported.     

The methylamine radical cation [CH3NH2]+˙ and its stable isomer the methylenammonium radical cation [CH2NH3]+˙

The potential energy surface for the [CH₅N]^+˙ system has been investigated using ab initio molecular orbital calculations with large, polarization basis sets and incorporating valence-electron correlation. Two [CH₅N]^+˙ isomers can be distinguished: the well known methylamine radical cation, [CH₃NH₂]^+˙, and the less familiar methylenammonium radical cation, [CH₂NH₃]^+˙. The latter is calculated to lie 8 kJ mol^?1 lower in energy. A substantial barrier (176 kJ mol^?1) is predicted for rearrangement of [CH₂NH₃]^+˙ to [CH₃NH₂]^+˙. In addition, a large barrier (202 kJ mol^?1) is found for loss of a hydrogen radical from [CH₂NH₃]^+˙ via direct N—H bond cleavage to give the aminomethyl cation [CH₂NH₂]⁺. These results are consistent with the existence of the methylenammonium ion [CH₂NH₃]^+˙ as a stable observable species. The barrier to loss of a hydrogen radical from [CH₃NH₂]^+˙ is calculated to be 140 kJ mol^?1.     

Loss of methyl from [H2CC(OH)?CH3]+˙ ions prepared by electron impact ionization of unstable 2-hydroxypropene

Unstable 2-hydroxpropene was prepared by retro-Diels-Alder decomposition of 5-exo-methyl-5-norbornenol at 800°C/2 × 10^?6 Torr. The ionization energy of 2-hydroxypropene was measured as 8.67±0.05 eV. Formation of [C₂H₃O]⁺ and [CH₃]⁺ ions originating from different parts of the parent ion was examined by means of ¹³C and deuterium labelling. Threshold-energy [H₂C?C(OH)? CH₃]^+˙ ions decompose to CH₃CO⁺+CH₃^˙ with appearance energy AE(CH₃CO⁺) = 11.03 ± 0.03 eV. Higher energy ions also form CH₂?C?OH⁺ + CH₃ with appearance energy AE(CH₂?C?OH⁺) = 12.2–12.3 eV. The fragmentation competes with hydrogen migration between C(1) and C(3) in the parent ion. [C₂H₃O]⁺ ions containing the original methyl group and [CH₃]⁺ ions incorporating the former methylene and the hydroxyl hydrogen atom are formed preferentially, compared with their corresponding counterparts. This behaviour is due to rate-determining isomerization [H₂C?C(OH)? CH₃]^+˙ →[CH₃COCH₃]^+˙, followed by asymmetrical fragmentation of the latter ions. Effects of internal energy and isotope substitution are discussed.     

The question of tautomerism of alkylnitrile and isonitrile radical cations

The isomeric pairs [CH₃CN]^+˙ and [CH₂CNH]^+˙ and [CH₃NC]^+˙ and [CH₂NCH]^+˙ have been established as stable, noninterconverting structures. The conclusion derives from studies of collision induced decomposition spectra. The same conclusion pertains for the ions [CH₃CH₂CN]^+˙ and [CH₃CHCNH]^+˙, and for [NCCH₂CH₂CN]^+˙, [HNCCHCH₂CN]^+˙ and [HNCCHCHCNH]^+˙. The energy barrier of a [1,3]-hydrogen shift, a possible isomerization mechanism, is determined to be at least 163 kJ mol^?1 for the [CH₃CN]^+˙ and [CH₂CNH]^+˙ pair, and the barrier may be as high as 318 kJ mol^?1. The C₃H₅N and C₄H₄N₂ radical cations decompose before they can be activated with 318 kJ mol^?1 of internal energy.     

The distonic ions HO+CHCH2C˙H2 and CH3C(O+H)CH2C˙H2

The distonic ions HO⁺?CHCH₂C^˙H₂ (1) and CH₃C(?O⁺H)CH₂C^˙H₂ (2) were directly generated, their decompositions characterized and their appearance energies determined by photoionization. Heats of formation derived from the appearance energies were 757 kJ mol^?1 for 1 and 692 kJ mol^?1 for 2. Deuterium labeling demonstrates that both ions decompose at low energies in the same ways as their isomers with the same skeletal structures, consistent with proposals that 1 and 2 are intermediates in the decompositions of those systems. Surprisingly, the values of the translational energy releases accompanying the formation of CH₃CO⁺ and C₂H₅CO⁺ from 2 appear to be inversely proportional to the available excess energy. The 1,2-H-shift RC(?O⁺H)CH₂C˙H₂ → RC(?O₊H)C˙HCH₃ is compared to the corresponding, non-occurring 1,2-H-shift in alkyl free radicals.     

Loss of methyl from ionized 2-hydroxy-1,3-butadiene

The loss of methyl from unstable, metastable and collisionally activated [CH₂?CH? C(OH)?CH₂]⁺˙ ions (1⁺˙) was examined by means of deuterium and ¹³C labelling, appearance energy measurements and product identification. High-energy, short-lived 1⁺˙ lose methyl groups incorporating the original enolic methene (C(1)) and the hydroxyl hydrogen atom (H(0)). The eliminations of C(1)H(1)H(1)H(4) and C(4)H(4)H(4)H(0) are less frequent in high-energy ions. Metastable 1⁺˙ eliminate mainly C(1)H(1)H(1)H(4), the elimination being accompanied by incomplete randomization of the five carbon-bound hydrogen atoms. The resulting [C₃H₃O]⁺ ions have been identified as the most stable CH₂?CH? CO⁺ species. The appearance energy for the loss of methyl from 1 was measured as AE[C₃H₃O]⁺ = 10.47 ± 0.05 eV. The critical energy for 1⁺˙ → [C₃H₃O]⁺ + CH₃˙ is assessed as E_c ? 173 kJ mol^?1. Reaction mechanisms are proposed and discussed.     

The ethyl halides: Stable neutral and radical cation isomers [C2, H2, X] where X = F,Cl, Br,I

The following isomers of the ethyl halide molecular ions have all been shown to be stable species in the gas phase: [CH₂CH₂FH]⁺˙; [CH₃ClCH₂]⁺˙ (ΔH_f° = 1012 kJ mol^?1); [CH₃CHClH]⁺˙ (ΔH_f° = 971 kJ mol^?1); [CH₂CH₂ClH]⁺˙; [CH₃BrCH₂]⁺˙ (ΔH_f° = 1058 KJ mol^?1); [CH₃CHBrH]⁺˙ (ΔH_f° = 995 kJ mol^?1) and [CH₂CH₂BrH]⁺˙. Neutralization–reionization mass spectrometry, employing Xe as the electron transfer target gas and O₂ as the target gas for reionization, indicated that the ylides CH₃ClCH₂ and CH₃BrCH₂ could not be generated by such means. However, the species CH₃CHClH, CH₂CH₂ClH and CH₂CH₂BrH (and possibly CH₃CHBrH) were unambiguously identified.     

Barrier to 1,3-sigmatropic shift in odd electron ions. A MINDO/3 study of H,OH, CH3 and C6H5 migration

Critical energies for 1,3-R sigmatropic migrations (R?H, OH, CH₃ and C₆H₅) have been calculated by means of the MINDO/3 method. This investigation was carried out for the system [RCH₂CH?CH₂]^+˙ and the results indicated that hydroxyl group migration is energetically favoured (critical energy = 53 kJ mol^?1). Calculations are also presented for [3-buten-2-ol]^+˙ isomerizations. The lowest energy pathway is related to the [2-buten-1-ol]^+˙; the corresponding critical energy for OH migration is equal to 33 kJ mol^?1 in this case.     

Stereoelectronic effects on the retro-Diels-Alder fragmentation of ionized bicyclo[4.3.0]nona-3,7-dienes

The electron impact and collision-induced dissociation mass spectra of cis- and trans-annulated bicyclo[4.3.0]nona-3,7-dienes differ in their relative abundances of [C₅H₆]⁺˙ fragments formed by the retro-Diels-Alder decomposition. The formation of [C₅H₆]⁺˙ is not preceded by hydrogen migration in the short-lived and long-lived molecular ions. The appearance energy of [C₅H₆]⁺˙ from both annulation isomers is identical within experimental error: AE_cis([C₅H₆]⁺˙)=10.56±0.10 eV and AE_trans([C₅H₆]⁺˙)=10.54±0.15 eV. The barrier to the retro-Diels-Alder fragmentation lies 68–76 kJ mol^?1 above the thermo-chemical threshold corresponding to [C₅H₆]⁺˙ + C₄H₆. Investigation of the two-dimensional reaction coordinate by the Topological Molecular Orbital treatment shows that the lowest energy path for the retro-Diels-Alder reaction involves a two-step dissociation of the C(5)? C(6) and C(1)? C(2) bonds in the molecular ion, the latter step overcoming a barrier, calculated as 80 kJ mol^?1 above the thermochemical threshold. The stereochemical difference between the geometric isomers is due to stereoelectronic assistance of the π orbitals of the cis-annulated isomer in the cleavage of the C(5)? C(6) bond. Other mechanisms of the retro-Diels–Alder reaction are discussed.     

The structure and dissociation pathways of protonated methanol: An ab initio molecular orbital study

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations with moderately large polarization basis sets and including valence-electron correlation have been used to examine the structure and dissociation mechanisms of protonated methanol [CH₃OH₂]⁺. Stable isomers and transition structures have been characterized using gradient techniques. Protonated methanol is found to be the only stable isomer in the [CH₅O]⁺ potential surface. There is no evidence for a tightly-bound complex, [HOCH₂]⁺…?H₂, analogous to the preferred structure [CH₃]⁺…?H₂ of [CH₅]⁺. Protonated methanol is found to possess a pyramidal arrangement of bonds at the oxygen atom with a barrier to inversion of 8kJ mol^?1. The lowest energy fragmentation pathways are dissociation into methyl cation and water (predicted to require 284 kJ mol^?1 with zero reverse activation energy) and loss of molecular hydrogen (endothermic by 138 kJ mol^?1 but with a reverse activation barrier of 149 kJ mol^?1). The results offer a possible explanation as to why production of [CH₂OH]⁺ from the reaction of methyl cation with water is not observed. Other dissociation processes examined include loss of a hydrogen atom to yield the methylenoxonium radical cation or methanol radical cation (requiring 441 and 490 kJ mol^?1, respectively) and loss of a proton to yield neutral methanol (requiring 784 kJ mol^?1).     

The distonic ion ˙CH2CH2CO+ and its formation from ionized cyclopentanone

Collisional activation decomposition (CAD) spectra are interpreted as indicating that formation of ˙CH₂CH₂CO⁺ (1) from ionized cyclopentanone, succinic anhydride arid butyrolactone is important at 70 eV electron energy. However, photoionization appearance energy measurements and CAD spectra demonstrate that CH₃CH?C?O^+· (3) is formed from ionized cyclopentanone near threshold. Ab initio molecular orbital calculations place ΔH _f (1) about 36 kJ mol^?1 above ΔH _f (3).     

Stereoelectronic control of the retro diels–alder reaction in 8-(N-pyrrolidyl)bicyclo[4.3.0]nona-3,7-diene isomers

The cis- and trans-annulated isomers of 8-(N-pyrrolidyl)bicyclo[4.3.0]nona-3,7-diene show different propensities for the retro Diels–Alder fragmentation following electron impact ionization. Molecular ions of the cis-annulated isomer decompose predominantly via the retro Diels–Alder reaction to give [C₉H₁₃N] ⁺· fragments of the appearance energy (AE)=8.45±0.05eV and critical energy E_c=133±8kJ mol^?1. The trans-annulated isomer gives abundant [M–H]⁺ (AE=9.34±0.08eV) and [M–C₆H₆]⁺· fragments, in addition to [C₉H₁₃N]⁺· ions of AE=8.98±0.05eV and E_c=181±8kJ mol^?1. The ionization energies (IE) were determined as IE_cis=7.07±0.05 eV and IE_trans=7.10±0.06eV. The stereochemical information is much less pronounced in unimolecular decompositions of long-lived (metastable) molecular ions which show very similar fragmentation patterns for both geometrical isomers. Nevertheless, the isomers exhibit different kinetic energy release values in the retro Diels–Alder fragmentation; T_0.5=3.8±0.3 and 4.8±0.2 kJ mol^?1 for the cis and trans isomer respectively. Topological molecular orbital calculations indicate that the retro Diels–Alder reaction prefers a two-step path, with a subsequent cleavage of the C(5)? C(6) and C(1)? C(2) bonds. The open-ring distonic intermediate represents the absolute minimum on the reaction energy hypersurface. The cleavage of the C(1)? C(2) bond is the rate-determining step in the decomposition of the cis isomer, with the critical energy calculated as 137 kJ mol^?1. The cleavage of the C(5)? C(6) bond becomes the rate-determining step in the trans-annulated isomer because of stereoelectronic control. The difference in the energy barriers to this cleavage in the isomers (ΔE=95k Jmol^?1) provides a quantitative estimate of the magnitude of the stereoelectronic effect in cation radicals.     

Theoretical study of the structure and unimolecular decomposition pathways of ethyloxonium, [CH3CH2OH2]+

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations with split-valence plus polarization basis sets and incorporating valence-electron correlation have been performed to determine the equilibrium structure of ethyloxonium ([CH₃CH₂OH₂]⁺) and examine its modes of unimolecular dissociation. An asymmetric structure (1) is predicted to be the most stable form of ethyloxonium, but a second conformational isomer of C_s symmetry lies only 1.4 kJ mol^?1 higher in energy than 1. Four unimolecular decomposition pathways for 1 have been examined involving loss of H₂, CH₄, H₂O or C₂H₄. The most stable fragmentation products, lying 65 kJ mol^?1 above 1, are associated with the H₂ elimination reaction. However, large barriers of 257 and 223 kJ mol^?1 have to be surmounted for H₂ and CH₄ loss, respectively. On the other hand, elimination of either C₂H₄ or H₂O from ethyloxonium can proceed without a barrier to the reverse associations and, with total endothermicities of 130 and 160 kJ mol^?1, respectively, these reactions are expected to dominate at lower energies. A second important equilibrium structure on the surface is a hydrogen-bridged complex, lying 53 kJ mol^?1 above 1. This complex is involved in the C₂H₄ elimination reaction, acts as an intermediate in the proton-transfer reaction connecting [C₂H₅]⁺ +H₂O and C₂H₄ + [H₃O]⁺ and plays an important role in the isotopic scrambling that has been observed experimentally in the elimination of either H₂O or C₂H₄ from ethyloxonium. The proton affinity of ethanol was calculated as 799 kJ mol^?1, in close agreement with the experimental value of 794 kJ mol^?1.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the reduction of monochloramine by hydroxylamine and hydroxylammonium ion

The kinetics and mechanism by which monochloramine is reduced by hydroxylamine in aqueous solution over the pH range of 5–8 are reported. The reaction proceeds via two different mechanisms depending upon whether the hydroxylamine is protonated or unprotonated. When the hydroxylamine is protonated, the reaction stoichiometry is 1:1. The reaction stoichiometry becomes 3:1 (hydroxylamine:monochloramine) when the hydroxylamine is unprotonated. The principle products under both conditions are Cl^–, NH⁺₄, and N₂O. The rate law is given by ?[d[NH₂Cl]/dt] = k₊[NH₃OH⁺][NH₂Cl] + k₀[NH₂OH][NH₂Cl]. At an ionic strength of 1.2 M, at 25°C, and under pseudo‐first‐order conditions, k₊= (1.03 ± 0.06) ×10³ L · mol^?1 · s^?1 and k₀=91 ± 15 L · mol^?1 · s^?1. Isotopic studies demonstrate that both nitrogen atoms in the N₂O come from the NH₂OH/NH₃OH⁺. Activation parameters for the reaction determined at pH 5.1 and 8.0 at an ionic strength of 1.2 M were found to be ΔH? = 36 ± 3 kJ · mol^–1 and Δ S? = ?66 ± 9 J · K^?1 · mol^?1, and Δ H? = 12 ± 2 kJ · mol^?1 and Δ S? = ?168 ± 6 J · K^?1 · mol^?1, respectively, and confirm that the transition states are significantly different for the two reaction pathways. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 38: 124–135, 2006     

Photoionization studies of substituted trimethylamines

Ionization energies of substituted trimethylamines (CH₃)₂NCH₂X, together with appearance energies of [M ? X]⁺ ions, have been measured by the photoionization technique. The heats of formation for the following radicals have been derived (in kJ mol^?1): C₂H₃^˙ (+ 314), Ph^. (+ 347), p-CH₃C₆H₄^˙ (+ 326), HC₂^˙ (+ 494), (CH₃)₂N?H₂ (+ 134), NC^˙ (+ 452), CF₃^. (? 435), (CH₃)₃Si^˙ (+ 54.5). The heats of formation obtained for [(CH₃)₂NCH₂]⁺ (+ 649) and (CH₃)₃Si⁺ (+ 610) lead to ionization energies of 5.35 eV for (CH₃)₂N?H₂ and 5.75 eV for (CH₃)₃Si^˙.     

The potential energy surface for the [C2H2O]+˙ system: The ketene radical cation [CH2CO]+˙ and its isomers

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations with large, polarization basis sets and incorporating valence electron correlation have been employed to examine the [C₂H₂O]^+˙ potential energy surface. Four [C₂H₂O]^+˙ isomers have been identified as potentially stable, observable ions. These are the experimentally well-known ketene radical cation, [CH₂?C?O]^+˙ (a), and the presently unknown ethynol radical cation, [CH₂?C? OH]^+˙ (b), the oxirene radical cation (c) and an ion resembling a complex of CO with [CH₂]^+˙, (d). The calculated energies of b, c and d relative to a are 189, 257 and 259 kJ mol^?1, respectively. Dissociation of ions a and d is found to occur without reverse activation energy.     

On the heat of formation of [C6H4]+˙

The appearance energy of the [C₆H₄]^+˙ ion from benzonitrile has been measured, using an electron monochromator. The value observed at onset, 12.54±0.03 eV, leads to a heat of formation of 1304±3 kJ mol^?1. Possible reasons for widely divergent values reported previously are proposed.     

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.     

Rate constant for the reaction of CH3C(O)CH2 radical with HBr and its thermochemical implication

The fast flow method with laser induced fluorescence detection of CH₃C(O)CH₂ was employed to obtain the rate constant of k₁ (298 K) = (1.83 ± 0.12 (1σ)) × 10¹⁰ cm³ mol^?1 s^?1 for the reaction CH₃C(O)CH₂ + HBr ? CH₃C(O)CH₃ + Br (1, ?1). The observed reduced reactivity compared with n‐alkyl or alkoxyl radicals can be attributed to the partial resonance stabilization of the acetonyl radical. An application of k₁ in a third law estimation provides Δ_fH(CH₃C(O)CH₂) values of ?24 kJ mol^?1 and ?28 kJ mol^?1 depending on the rate constants available for reaction ( ‐1 ) from the literature. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 38: 32–37, 2006