Molecular Orbital Study of Remote Charge Site Decompositions in the Collision-Induced Decomposition Mass Spectra of Fatty Acid Carboxylate Anions

Abstract

Molecular orbital calculations were used to study the energetics of four different mechanisms used to explain the collision-induced decomposition mass spectra of saturated fatty acid carboxylate anions produced by fast atom bombardment and chemical ionization. The most abundant homologous series of anions, terminally unsaturated carboxylate anions, arose from the concerted cleavage of gauche segments of the hydrocarbon backbone via a sixatom transition state. A series of anions of lower abundance arose by homolytic cleavage of anti segments of the hydrocarbon backbone into two radical fragments. The loss of methane from the parent anion is produced by the concerted cleavage of the terminal methyl group via a four-atom transition state. The computed activation energies for the reaction mechanisms were in the following order: sixatom transition state < four-atom transition state ≪ homolytic cleavage of hydrocarbon backbone. Dehydration of the parent anion is rationalized to occur by loss of a carboxylate oxygen and two hydrogen atoms on the alpha carbon from the carboxylate carbon.