Interaction of Zn+ with isobutylene in the gas phase and in clusters. Metal ion induced cationic polymerization

A variety of closed shell hydrocarbon ions have been observed following charge transfer from Zn+ to isobutylene (C4H8) in a high-pressure mass spectrometric (HPMS) source. The time profiles of these ions and their strong pressure dependence suggest that consecutive and sequential ion-molecule reactions are responsible for their formation. The interaction of Zn+ with isobutylene clusters (C4H8)n generated by a supersonic beam expansion results in efficient generation of the C4H9(C4H8)n+ series. These observations suggest has phase and intracluster polymerization behavior induced by Zn+. Clusters provide a feasible and valuable approach for understanding the mechanism of the early stages of cationic polymerization.