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Generation of M @ C 2 n + (M = K, Rb, Cs, 2n = 80–220) by laser ablation of graphene
Author(s) -
Bao Xiaodi,
Kong Xianglei
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.7267
Subject(s) - chemistry , ion , metallofullerene , alkali metal , fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance , analytical chemistry (journal) , mass spectrometry , mass spectrum , alkaline earth metal , laser ablation , graphene , metal ions in aqueous solution , dissociation (chemistry) , metal , inorganic chemistry , laser , materials science , nanotechnology , physics , organic chemistry , optics , chromatography
Rationale The yield of endohedral metallofullerene (EMF) ions is greatly related to the encaged metal atoms. For alkali metals, the generation of corresponding large‐sized monometallofullerene ions by traditional methods is still difficult. The aim of this work is to study the generation and the distribution of alkali‐metallofullerene ions by the method of laser ablation with graphene as the precursor. Methods The experiment was performed with a Fourier transform ion cyclotron (FTICR) mass spectrometer. Mass spectra were obtained by laser ablation of the mixtures of graphene and KCl, RbCl or CsCl in the positive ion mode. Collision‐induced dissociation (CID) experiments were also performed for some selected ions. Results EMF ions of M @ C 2 n + (M = K, Rb, Cs, 2n = 80–220) can be generated by using graphene as the precursor. Other EMF ions with smaller sizes, including M @ C 60 + , were also observed under the optimized experimental conditions. CID experiments of some selected ions confirmed their endohedral structures. Conclusions Metallofullerene ions of M @ C 2 n + (M = K, Rb, Cs, 2n = 80–220) were generated by laser ablation of graphene and corresponding metal salts. Compared with previous results of alkaline earth metals, the yields of EMF ions are generally lower. However, for large‐sized EMF ions, the relative intensities of EMF ions to their corresponding fullerene ions I M @ C 2 n +/ I C 2 n +generally increase with the increase in cluster sizes, which is opposite to the trend observed for alkaline earth metals. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.