The elusive methene ylides CH2CIH,CH2FH and CH2OH2

The possible existence of the ylides CH₂CIH, CH₂₅FH and CH₂OH₂ as stable neutral species in the gas phase has been investigated by the neutralization–reionization (NR) mass spectrometry of their radical cations using a double-focusing mass spectrometer of reversed geometry. The experiments were, for the most part, performed under single-collision conditions with Xe as the neutralization target gas and He and O₂ as reionization agents. For each ylidion a peak was observed in their NR mass spectrum which indicated that the neutral ylide had apparently been produced. However for CH₂FH⁺˙ and CH₂OH₂⁺˙ the m/z 34 and m/z 32 peaks, respectively, were attribut-able to interferences from the natural isotopic abundance of ions of lower mass. For CH₂CIH⁺˙, the NR recovery signal was found to arise from the presence of CH₃CI⁺˙ as an impurity in the ylidion flux. This was proved by examination of the collisional activation mass spectra of the [C, H₃, CI]⁺˙ ions produced in the NR mass spectra of the conventional ions and ylidions, an experiment performed using a triple-sector mass spectrometer.