Mass spectrometry of systems containing a group IVB—transition metal bond : I. The phenyl- and pentafluorophenyl- silicon, -germanium and -tin derivatives of pentacarbonylmanganese

The 70 eV mass spectra of the series Ph_3?n(C₆F₅)_nMMn(CO)₅ (n = 0 to 3 and M = Si, Ge or Sn) and Ph₃PbMn(CO)₅ have been examined and the proposed fragmentation schemes are supported by the observance of the appropriate metastable ions. Most of the total ion current is carried by metal-containing ions, particularly those containing just a Group IV metal. In all cases the initial fragmentation is by the loss of one or more carbonyl groups from the molecular ion, followed, except in the case of the fully fluorinated silicon derivatives, by the cleavage of the metal—metal bond. The fragmentation of the remainder of the molecule is then controlled by the nature of M and the number of pentafluorophenyl groups, the silicon derivatives showing a greater abundance of ions formed by the cleavage of the CC, CH or CF bonds in the aromatic ring, in contrast to the tin and lead derivatives which fragment almost exclusively by the cleavage of the metal—carbon bond. The formation of metal fluoride species plays an important part in the fragmentation of the pentafluorophenyl derivatives and becomes more important as the Group IV metal becomes heavier, while except for Ph₃PbMn(CO)₅ the abundances of the ions resulting from the migration of a complete aromatic ring from one metal to the other remain essentially constant. However, some of the observed changes in the fragmentation modes are not readily predicted on the basis of the expected variation in the relative metal—carbon or metal—metal bond strengths since these appear to be more dependent on the stabilities of the radical species or on the ion species formed. The tin—metal molecular bond dissociation energies in Ph₃SnMn(CO)₅ and Ph₃SnFe(CO)₂Cp were found to be 61 ± 8 and 54 ± 9 kcal mol^?1, respectively.