Cationization of organometallo carbonyl compounds by fast ion bombardment

Abstract

Organodicobalt, organochromium, and organomolybdenum carbonyl complexes have been studied using fast ion bombardment mass spectrometry. It has been found that the addition of cesium iodide to the liquid matrix, m-NBA, can significantly enhance the ability to observed the precursor ions of these organometallics through charge localization. In most cases the [M + Cs] + ions were more abundant than the radical cations M −, the protonated molecules [M + H] +, or the sodium cationized molecules [M + Na] + which were either unobservable or less intense than those treated with the cesium iodide salt solution. The decomposition of the compounds took place primarily through the successive loss of carbonyls from the radical cation with some carbonyl loss observed through the protonated and cationized species. The FAB matrix ions produced when cesium iodide was added to m-NBA also allowed for internal calibration.