The Claisen rearrangement of protonated allyl phenyl ether

Molecular protonated ions of allyl phenyl ether undergo a Claisen rearrangement both in the ion source and along the flight path. The rearranged ions undergo fragmentation, the predominat loss being ethene, and only a small contribution from loss of carbon monoxide is observed. Collision-induced dissociation spectra are used to verify the structures of the daughter ions. These spectra, together with other evidence of an acid-induced ortho rearrangement, allow a mechanism to be proposed for the ethene loss. In contrast, molecular protonated ions of propargyl phenyl ether lose exclusively carbon monoxide.