Isolated ion-pairs of ionic liquids (ILs) are prepared in the gas phase and are monitored by soft ionization mass spectrometry, exhibiting clear intact cations. Velocity map ion images of the intact cation and the anion shows the dissociative ionization and ionic dissociation of the ion-pairs as an indication of neutral pairs in the form of cation-anion 1:1 pairs. The ion pairs are also generated by vaporizing IL submicrometer aerosol particles for the first time; the vaporized species are investigated by dissociative ionization with tunable vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light, exhibiting less internal energy in the ion-pairs compared to an effusive source. This fragmentation-free detection of thermally vaporized aerosol particles is used to study the hypergolic reaction of ionic liquid aerosol (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide) and nitric acid initiated in a flow tube. The Mass spectra and photoionization efficiency curves show the reaction products, cyanoamine, isocyanourea, and melamine, of the hypergolic reaction.

Hypergolic reaction and photodissociation dynamics of ionic liquid studied by soft ionization mass spectrometry

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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