Metastable peak shapes, dimensions and relative abundances have been measured for the fragmentations ions were generated from but 1-ene, cis-and trans- but-2-ene, 2-methylpropene, methylcyclopropane and cyclobutane. Forward and reverse activation energies for the above reactions have been estimated and daughter ion structures proposed. The pathway for the consecutive reaction which generates the metastable peak (m/e 56 → m/e 53) is proposed to be Observations on metastable peaks for fourteen assorted daughter ion fragmentations are also presented and the thermochemistry and daughter ion structures for some of the reactions are discussed. Metastable peaks for the fragmentation of ions generated by field ionization are also described.
