Abstract:
Ion-neutral complexes(INCs) are the important intermediates in the gas phase unimolecular reactions. In recent twenty years, scientists from many countries have reported on a variety of INC-mediated fragmentation reactions in mass spectrometry including proton transfer reactions, cation transfer reactions and many kinds of isomerization reactions
1-4. In the multi-stage mass spectra of the protonated aromaticmethyl benzyl ethers and protonated sulfonamides, we observed a series of gas phase fragmentation reactions mediated by INC intermediates, including a new kind of charge-transfer reaction
5. The fragmentation pathways and the abundances of the product ions are both correlated with the substituent effect. These reactions are further systematically investigated by theoretical calculations and deuterium labeling experiments.