Internal energy distributions of tungsten hexacarbonyl ions after neutralization—Reionization

The internal energy distributions P(ε) transferred to W(CO)^+√₆ during the kiloelectronvolt collisions that occur upon neutralization-reionization (NR) have been estimated based on the relative abundances of the W(CO)^+√₀₋₆ products present in NR spectra (thermochemical method). The average internal energy of the incipient W(CO)^+√₆ ^* ions arising after near thermoneutral neutralization with trimethylamine followed by reionization with O₂ is −9 eV for 8-keV precursor ions and is mainly deposited during reionization. For comparison, the mean internal energy of W(CO)^+√₆* after electron ionization (EI) or collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) is −6 eV. Making the neutralization step endothermic slightly increases the overall excitation gained; however, a large increase in endothermicity ( > 16 eV) causes only a modest rise of the average internal energy (< 2 eV). The P(ε) curve for NR increases exponentially up to 6 eV and levels off at higher energies, showing that the probability of imparting large internal energies (6–17 eV) is high. In sharp contrast, the most probable excitation on CAD is ≤ 6 eV, and the probability of deposition of larger energies declines exponentially. The mean internal energies after CAD and NR decrease steadily when the kinetic energy is lowered. The structure (minima-maxima) observed in the P(ε) distribution for EI, which most likely originates from Franck-Condon factors, is not reproduced in the distributions for NR or high energy CAD, despite the fact that all three methods involve electronic excitation. Because of the large internal energies transferred upon NR, NR mass spectrometry could be particularly useful in the differentiation of ionic isomers with high dissociation but low isomerization thresholds. (J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 1994, 5, 1093-1101)