Mass spectrometric characterization of a dinuclear terbium phthalocyaninato complex

A newly synthesized heteroleptic bis-terbium-tris-phthalocyaninato sandwich complex has been studied using negative-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Intense ion signals corresponding to the singly and doubly negatively charged complex were observed upon chemical reduction in solution using tetrakis(dimethylamino)ethylene (TDAE) as an electron transfer reagent. Ion mobility mass spectrometry and collision induced dissociation using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance and Orbitrap mass spectrometers were employed to determine the stacking order of the triple-decker complex and to characterize the electronic stability of the isolated singly and doubly charged anions.

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► Newly synthesized neutral heteroleptic bis-terbium-tris-phthalocyaninato sandwich complex electrosprayed as singly and doubly charged anion upon solution phase reduction.
► Stacking configuration determined via collision-induced dissociation experiments and ion-mobility spectrometry.
► For dianionic complex electron emission channel competes with ionic fragmentation upon collisional activation.