Isomerisation of hydrocarbon ions III–[C 8 H 8 ] + ·, [C 8 H 8 ] 2+ , [C 6 H 6 ] + · AND [C 6 H 5 ] + IONS

Collisional activation spectra of [C 8 H 8 ] + ·, [C 8 H 8 ] 2+ , [C 6 H 6 ] + · and [C 6 H 5 ] + ions from fifteen different sources are reported. Decomposing [C 8 H 8 ] + · ions of ten of these precursors isomerise to a mixture of mainly the cyclooctatetraene and, to a smaller extent, the styrene structure. Three additional structures are observed with [C 8 H 8 ] + · ions from the remaining precursors. [C 8 H 8 ] 2+. , [C 8 H 8 ] + ·, [C 6 H 6 ] + · and [C 6 H 5 ] + · ions mostly decompose from common structures although some exceptions are reported.