Applications of laser ionization/fourier-transform mass spectrometry to the study of metal ions and their clusters in the gas phase

Recent software and hardware modifications of the Nicolet FTMS-1000 Fourier-transform mass spectrometer have made it possible to conduct research in what can be termed a “complete gas-phase chemical laboratory”. Selected ions of interest can be mixed with various reagents and their detailed chemistries monitored through a series of as many as eight reaction sequences. At any point in these sequences, ion structures can be elucidated and fundamental kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of the reactions can be determined. These powerful new techniques have been applied to examine the gas-phase chemistry and photochemistry of metal ions, metal ion clusters, and metal ion complexes, all of which have a bearing on the fundamentals of organometallic chemistry and catalysis.