The collision energy dependence of the fragmentation of the 1-bromonaphthalene radical cation was studied using sustained off-resonance excitation (SORI) in a 7 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FTMS). Fragmentation efficiency curves were obtained as a function of collision energy at four different pressures of Ar bath gas corresponding to collision numbers of 3, 5, 15, and 20. The results were modeled using RRKM/QET formalism. A refined analytical form for the collisional energy deposition function is proposed. The ability to obtain accurate fragmentation energetics of a complex system using the present approach is demonstrated. The "effective temperatures" deduced from the average internal energies for C 6 H 5 Br +• and C 10 H 7 Br +• were found to be the same for both ions provided the bath gas pressure and the maximum value of center-of-mass collision energy were the same. The range of effective temperatures from 1000 to 3700 K sampled in the present study significantly exceeds the temperature range accessible by blackbody infrared radiative dissociation (BIRD). We anticipate that the present approach can be used to study fragmentation energetics of biomolecules.
IntroductionCollision-induced dissociation (CID) is a powerful tool both for determination of ion structures in the gas phase and for obtaining information on energetics and mechanisms of fragmentation processes of internally excited ions. Principles of collisional activation (CA) as well as various aspects and challenges of CA of polyatomic ions have been extensively discussed in several recent reviews. [1][2][3][4] The present study is a continuation of our group's ongoing research focused on characterizing the energy deposition function following sustained off-resonance irradiation CID (SORI-CID) in Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FTMS). Collisional activation in FTMS can be implemented using either on-resonance or off-resonance excitation of the precursor ion. In the former case, ions are accelerated to a desired kinetic energy with a short radio frequency (rf) pulse applied at the cyclotron frequency of the precursor ion 5,6 and activated by collisions with neutral atoms or molecules inside the ICR cell. This technique has been used to study fragmentation of relatively small ions under single-collision conditions. If multiple collisions occur, the kinetic energy of ions is effectively damped, and the efficiency of subsequent collisions is small. However, multiple collisions are clearly required to induce substantial fragmentation of large molecules (e.g., protonated peptides and proteins). Fragmentation efficiency of large molecules is limited by both (1) the decrease in the center-of-mass (CM) collision energy with increase in the mass of the precursor ion and (2) the dramatic decrease in decomposition rates with increase in the number of internal degrees of freedom.