The Dissociation Kinetics of Energy-Selected CpMn(CO)3 + Ions Studied by Threshold Photoelectron−Photoion Coincidence Spectroscopy

Threshold photoelectron−photoion coincidence spectroscopy has been used to investigate the dissociation kinetics of the cyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl ion, CpMn(CO)3 +. The ionization energy of CpMn(CO)3 was measured from the threshold photoelectron spectrum to be 7.69 ± 0.02 eV. The dissociation of the CpMn(CO)3 + ion proceeds by the sequential loss of three CO molecules. The first and third CO loss reactions were observed to be slow (lifetimes in the microsecond range). By simulating the resulting asymmetric time-of-flight peak shapes and breakdown diagram, 0 K onsets for three product ions were determined to be 8.80 ± 0.04, 9.43 ± 0.04, and 10.51 ± 0.06 eV, respectively. Combined with the adiabatic ionization energy, the three successive Mn−CO bond energies in the CpMn(CO)3 + were found to be alternating with values of 1.11 ± 0.04, 0.63 ± 0.04, and 1.08 ± 0.06 eV, respectively. Using a scaled theoretical Cp−Mn+ bond energy of 3.10 ± 0.10 eV and the combined results from theory and experiment, the 298 K gas-phase heat of formation of CpMn(CO)3 is suggested to be −419 ± 15 kJ/mol. Based on this value, the 298 K heats of formation of CpMn(CO)3 +, CpMn(CO)2 +, CpMnCO+, and CpMn+ are 325 ± 15, 546 ± 15, 719 ± 15, and 938 ± 15 kJ/mol, respectively. By scaling theoretical calculated neutral bond energies with the experimental information derived in this study, the successive Mn−CO bond energies were estimated to be 1.88, 1.10, and 1.03 eV, respectively, while the Cp−Mn bond energy was found to be 2.16 eV. Comparison between the quantum chemical calculations and experimental values shows that the loss of CO groups follows the lowest energy adiabatic path, in which electronic spin on the metal center is not conserved.