GASEOUS DIPHOSPHORUS AND TRIPHOSPHORUS SULFIDE: GENERATION AND IDENTIFICATION BY NEUTRALIZATION-REIONIZATION MASS SPECTROMETRY

Abstract

The dissociative ionization by electron impact (70 eV) of tetraphosphorus trisulfide, P₄S₃, yields [P₃S]⁺ and [P_ZS]⁺⁰ ions whose structures have been investigated by means of Coliisionai Activation (CA) mass spectra. Using the technique of Neutralization-Reionization mass spectrometry (NRMS) it is shown that both ions can be reduced to the corresponding neutral molecules. Thus, triphosphorus sulfide and diphosphorus sulfide are viable molecules in the rarefied gas phase. The results of ab initio MO calculations were used to interpret the experimental findings. Tetrahedral (C_3v) and triangular (C_2v) structures are proposed for the [P,S]⁺ and [P_ZS]⁺⁰ ions respectively.

Key Words:

• Phosphorus sulfides/mass spectrometry
• neutralization-reionization
• ab initio MO calculations.