Ion chemistry of some organic molecules studied by field ionization and field desorption mass spectrometry

The chemistry of isolated ions in the gas phase is strongly dependent on the internal energy which they have required upon formation. Since also the average lifetime of an ion depends on its internal energy, ion lifetime studies have been employed for many years to obtain a better insight in the relation between the chemistry and internal energy of gas phase ions. A very powerful tool for such studies is the field ionization kinetic (FIK) method, because it can provide a time-resolved picture of decompositions of ions with lifetimes varying from 10-11 to 10-5 s. The FIK method has been used in combination with 2H, 13C and 15N labelling for mechanistic studies on the fragmentation of some selected ionised organic molecules. (Auth.)