Proton and electron transfers in OHO and CHO hydrogen-bridged ions: their role in the dissociation chemistry of ionized acetol, CH3C(=O)CH2OH+

Low-energy acetol ions CH 3 C(=O)CH 2 OH •+ , 1, dissociate to CH 3 C(H)OH + and HC=O • by a double hydrogen transfer (DHT), a common reaction among oxygen-containing radical cations. Recent experimental work has shown that the isotopologue CH 3 C(=O)CH 2 OD •+ specifically loses HC=O • to produce CH 3 C(D)OH + . This finding refutes an earlier postulated attractive mechanism based on the behaviour of 1 in ion-molecule reactions. Using ab …