Coamplexation of mercury(II) compounds by crown ethers in organic media

Formation of organometallic species, [M - H](+) ions and radical cations upon mass spectrometric fragmentation of mercury-crown ether complexes

Mass spectrometric fragmentation pathways of [M + HgClO(4)](+) (M - crown ether molecule), determined by tandem mass spectrometry experiments, are discussed in detail. The decomposition of [M + HgClO(4)](+) proceeds along three fragmentation pathways: formation of [M - H](+) ions, formation of organometallic species, namely [M - H + Hg](+) ions, and formation of radical cations [M](+*). The factors influencing these processes, namely crown ether cavities and the presence of electron withdrawing/electron donor groups, have been discussed.