On the Generation of Polycarbon Nitride Radicals C n N . ( n = 2–5) by Neutralization‐Reionization Mass Spectrometry

The title radicals, thought to be of prime importance in the genesis of interstellar organic molecules, are accessible in the gas phase by neutralization of the corresponding C n N + ions ( n = 2–5) using tandem mass spectrometry methods (neutralization‐reionization mass spectrometry). Collision‐induced dissociation reactions of mass‐selected C n N + are in keeping with the connectivity of a “carbon rod” bearing a nitrogen atom at one terminus.