A comparative ion chemistry study of acetone, diacetone alcohol, and mesityl oxide

The evolution of ion species by unimolecular and bimolecular reactions, both concurrent and sequential, has been investigated for each of 2-propanone, d6-2-propanone, 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone, and 4-methyl-3-penten-2-one. Infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) has been used in order to differentiate between gaseous ionic isomers. It is concluded that the isomeric species, protonated 2-propanone dimer and protonated 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone, both of m/z 117, are of different structures. The ion species C6H11O+ of m/z 99, and its perdeuterated analogue, which is observed in all three systems, may exist in two forms, one of which is unique to 2-propanone while an alternative form appears to be common to 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone and 4-methyl-3-penten-2-one. The ion species of m/z 83 (C5H7O+) which is observed only in the latter two systems only could not be differentiated and may have a common structure. In the protonated dimers of 2-propanone and 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone, evidence obtained by IRMPD indicates that the activation energy for dedimerization (134 kJ mol−1) is less than that for the dehydration process.