Dissociation of CuH+ and ZnH+ complexes of ethylenediamine and their N-methylated homologues: Family and neighbours, but not the same

Upon collisional activation, complexes of CuH+ and ZnH+ with H2NCH2CH2NH2 eliminate Cu(0) and Zn(0) to produce protonated ethylenediamine H2NCH2CH2NH3+ via a proton transfer. Variable collision energy experiments and model chemistry calculations (CBS-QB3 method) indicate that (i) the energy requirement for this process is significantly larger for the zinc complex than for the copper complex; and (ii) the transition-state for the proton transfer …