CH and CC bond activation reactions in silver alkynyl cluster cations, RCCAg2

Abstract

A range of silver alkynyl cations RCCAg2+ (R = H, Me, Et, Pr, Bu, tBu and Ph) can be "synthesized" in the gas phase via two approaches using electrospray ionization (ESI) multistage mass spectrometry experiments. The first involves injecting a solution of AgNO3 and the appropriate acid RCCCO2H in a MeOH/H2O solvent mixture into the ESI source, which yields the cluster cations (RCCAg)nAg + (n = 1-12) via decarboxylation. The second involves direct ESI of solutions of pre-synthesized silver acetylides, which yields a series of silver acetylide cluster cations of the type (RCCAg)nAg+ (n = 4-18), which upon CID yield RCCAg2+. The low energy CID reactions of the silver alkynyl cations RCCAg2+ hav..