Reactions of Neutral and Charged Molybdenum Oxide Clusters with Low-Molecular-Weight Alcohols in a Gas Phase Studied by Ion Cyclotron Resonance

A set of oxygen-containing molybdenum oxide clusters Mo_xO_y (x = 1–3; y = 1–9) was obtained with the use of a combination of a Knudsen cell and an ion trap cell. The reactions of positively charged clusters with C₁–C₄ alcohols were studied using ion cyclotron resonance. The formation of a number of organometallic ions, the products of initial insertion of molybdenum oxide ions into the C–O and C–H bonds of alcohols, and polycondensation products of methanol and ethanol were found. The reactions of neutral molybdenum oxide clusters Mo_xO_y (x = 1–3; y = 1–9) with protonated C₁–C₄ alcohols and an ammonium ion were studied. The following limits of proton affinity (PA) were found for neutral oxygen-containing molybdenum clusters: (MoO) < 180, (Mo₂O₄, Mo₂O₅, and Mo₃O₈) = 188 ± 8, PA(MoO₂) = 202 ± 5, PA(MoO₃, Mo₂O₆, and Mo₃O₉) > 207 kcal/mol.