Reactive collisions in quadrupole cells. 6. H/D exchange reactions of protonated alkylbenzenes with D2O, CH3OD, and C2H5OD

Abstract

The H/D exchange reactions occurring on collision of protonated alkylbenzenes with C2H5OD, CH3OD, and D2O at low collision energies in the quadrupole collision cell of a hybrid tandem mass spectrometer have been studied for 22 alkylbenzenes. The exchange reactions with D2O are much less efficient than the exchange reactions with C2H5OD or CH3OD; this difference is rationalized on energetics grounds. The H/D exchange of the protonated alkylbenzenes with C2H5OD or CH3OD leads, typically, to 40–70% deuterium incorporation in the protonated alkylbenzene and, for most cases, to significant ion signals corresponding to exchange of the added hydrogen and the aromatic hydrogens. Thus, the method is a feasible approach to counting the number of aromatic hydrogens in alkylbenzenes. The extent of exchange decreases with increasing size of the alkyl group in monoalkylbenzenes for reasons that are not readily understood. Keywords: protonated alkylbenzenes, H/D exchange, reactive collisions.