Bond‐forming reactions occurring in azines upon electron impact

Abstract

AbstractSkeletal rearrangement processes of the general type \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm ABC}^{\mathop {\rm + }\limits_{\rm .} } {\rm } \to {\rm AC}^{\mathop {\rm + }\limits_{\rm .} } {\rm + B} $\end{document} in which HCN is eliminated and also bond‐forming reactions involving intramolecular aromatic substitution occur in aromatic azines upon electron impact. In addition, hydrogen rearrangements can lead to abundant benzonitrile and benzalimine molecular ions and their substituted analogues. The abundant [M1] ions are predominantly formed by loss of the methine hydrogen preceded by complete scrambling of the aromatic and methine hydrogens. The similarities between the processes occurring in azines and those in anils, both in their normal bond cleavages and in some bond‐forming reactions are emphasized.