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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Photoelectron Imaging of Anions Illustrated by 310 Nm Detachment of F−
Published on: July 27, 2018
Electron ionization mass spectra of alkylated sulfabenzamides
Nino G Todua1, Kirill V Tretyakov, Roman S Borisov
1National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8320, USA. nino.todua@nist.gov
Abstract:
Mono-, di- and trialkyl derivatives of 'sulfabenzamide' (N-4-aminophenylsulfonylbenzamide) have been prepared and their electron ionization (EI) mass spectra examined. It is found that the fragmentation of N-alkylsulfabenzamides (alkyl = CH(3) to n-C(5)H(11)) proceeds via a very specific rearrangement process. The proposed mechanism involves an intermediate formation of distonic molecular ions, and the driving force for this process is the formation of stable N-alkylphenylcyanide cations [R-N(+)≡CC(6)H(5)]. The findings are confirmed by exact mass measurements, tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) experiments and deuterium labeling.
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