GENERATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NEUTRAL AND CATIONIC 3-SILA-CYCLOPROPENYLIDENE IN THE GAS-PHASE - DESCRIPTION OF A NEW BEBE TANDEM MASS-SPECTROMETER

Collision-induced dissociation of mass-selected SiC2X2+. species (X = H, D), generated by electron impact ionization of ClSi(CX3)3(X = H, D), gives rise to spectra which are consistent with the structure of the theoretically predicted cation radical of 3-silacyclopropenylidene (1+.). This species can be successfully neutralized and reionized under the conditions of neutralization-reionization mass spectrometric experiments, thus supporting previous theoretical predictions that 3-silacyclopropenylidene (1) is a stable molecule in the gas phase. A description of the BEBE tandem mass spectrometer is given.