A detailed analysis of the complete hydrogen and carbon scrambling and fragmantation reactions of boron‐containing cationic species in the mass spectrometer

Abstract

A detailed analysis of the mass spectral behavior of trialkylboranes and deuterium and I3C labeled tri-n-butylborane, and comparison with the ion cyclotron resonance behavior, have revealed several unique features and heretofore unrecognized rearrangement and fragmentation reactions :(1) the occurrence ofinitial fragmentation of the parent ion with apparently nearly exclusive loss of one complete alkyl radical; (2) the extensive formation of boron-containing species (>60% of the total ion current) in the mass spectrometer relative to the virtual absence (<5%) of such species in the ion cyclotron resonance spectrum; (3) the dominant formation of boron-containing species of the RESULTS Mass spectrum of tri-n-butylboraneThe high resolution mass spectrum of tri-n-butylborane (I) is dominated by boron-containing species (>60% of the total ion current at 70 eV). The parent ion is quite weak, representing -0.4 % of the boron-containing fragment ion current.

Transfer reactions involving boron. XXVII. Study of the formation and reactions of alkane molecular ions and alkyl cations with tributylborane by ion cyclotron resonance

“…In a study of the mass spectral behavior of trialkylboranes, a number of unique characteristics have been noted. 2 The mass spectra of trialkylboranes is dominated by boron-containing ions of which C"H2"+2B+ is the dominant series with CiHeB"1" being, in general, the most abundant ion in the spectra. A second unique feature of the mass spectral behavior of trialkylboranes is the formation of appreciable quantities of alkane molecular ions containing up to twice the number of carbon atoms contained in a single alkyl group attached to the boron.…”