RESUMO
Five perfluorocompounds [perfluoropentane, 4-(perfluoroethoxy)-perfluorobutane, 5-(perfluoroethyl)-perfluorotetrahydrofuran, 2-(trifluoromethyl)-perfluorotetrahydropyran, and 4-(trifluoromethyl)-perfluorotetrahydropyran] were analyzed by electron ionization (EI) and chemical ionization (CI), using methane and isobutane as reagent gases. Under CI conditions, isobutane does not lead to significative results whereas methane leads to high ionic yields [with respect to both CI (isobutane) and EI]. Under EI conditions, practically only fragment ions are observed, with the complete loss of molecular weight. In contrast under CI(CH(4) ) conditions, [M-F](+) ions are produced. Under these conditions, the behavior of oxygen-containing molecules is strongly different from that of perfluoropentane. This is because oxygen can greatly stabilize the formation of the [M-F](+) carbocation by a π-electron donor effect, especially in the case of cyclic structures. Moreover, π-stabilization can be considered a useful tool to rationalize the position of tertiary carbon atom in trifluoromethyl-perfluoro-pyrane isomeric ions. The experimental data formed the starting point for the theoretical calculation, which allowed us to explore the mechanisms of the reactions of CH(5) (+) ions with selected perfluorocompounds. The computational methods used show that a direct protonation of the perfluoroethers (PFEs) by CH(5) (+) as well as iBu(+) is very unlikely. In the theoretical calculations, the PFE molecule served rather as the F(-) donor, and the elimination of HF molecule occurred when the PFE molecule was placed close to H(+) or CH(5) (+) ions. The fact that the latter is very unstable and decomposes to a proton and methane molecule explains why the use of methane in CI is so successful in the generation of [M-F](+) ion. In contrast, the isobutonium cation rearranges to an isopropyl cation/methane complex rather than that it abstracts F(-) from the PFE molecule. Similar results can be expected for other PFEs and perfluoroalkanes (PFAs) because both CH(5) (+) and H(+) were able to abstract the HF molecule also by attacking along the perfluoroalkyl chain of the PFE.
RESUMO
Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is very often employed to study metal/ligand equilibria in aqueous solution. However, the ionization process can introduce perturbations which affect the speciation results in an unpredictable way. It is necessary to identify these perturbations in order to correctly interpret the ESI-MS speciation results. Aluminium(III)/1,6-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3-pyridinecarboxylate (DQ716) aqueous solutions at various pH were analysed by ESI-MS, and speciation results were compared with those obtained by equilibrium techniques. Differences observed were both qualitative and quantitative. The ESI-MS spectral changes due to different settings of the following instrumental parameters were analyzed: the solution flow rate (F(S)), the nebulizer gas flow rate (F(G)), the potential applied at the entrance capillary (E(C)), and the temperature of the drying gas (T(G)). The effects produced by F(S) and E(C) on the spectra strongly suggest the key role of surface activity in determining the relative fraction of the ions reaching the detector. The experimental effects of F(S) and T(G) were interpreted considering the presence of at least two reactions in the gas phase and a dimerization occurring in the droplets. These perturbations cannot be generalized because they appear to be chemical system-related and instrument-dependent. Therefore, the identification of perturbations is a required task for any metal-ligand equilibrium study performed by ESI-MS. Our results indicate that perturbations can be identified by evaluating the effects produced in the spectra by a change of instrumental parameters.
