GAS-PHASE PROTONATION OF SIMPLE INORGANIC MOLECULES - A STIMULATING INTERPLAY BETWEEN THEORY AND EXPERIMENT

A brief account of some of the results obtained recently during the investigation of the gas-phase protonation of some simple inorganic molecules. The combined use of structurally diagnostic mass spectrometric techniques, such as mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy (MIKE) and collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) spectrometry and ab initio calculations allows the successful probe of the corresponding potential energy surfaces. Information is obtained on the structure and the stability of the various protonated intermediates, as well as on the details of the mechanisms of their interconversion and unimolecular decomposition processes.