Investigation of the molecular structure and VUV‐induced ion dissociation dynamics of 2‐azetidinone (C3H5NO)

Rationale The class of active components of the group of β‐lactam antibiotics is very important for several fields and applications, although their stability and radiation reactivity properties are not yet well understood. We have studied the interaction of an important building block species, the 2‐azetidinone (C3H5NO) molecule, with monochromatic VUV (synchrotron radiation) photons in the 9.5–21.5 eV range, using time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (TOF‐MS), electron‐ion coincidence (PEPICO), and high‐level theory methods. Methods A 2‐azetidinine sample was introduced into the UH‐vacuum chamber, without purification, through an inlet system for the gas‐phase experiments with monochromatic light in the VUV range from the TGM beamline at the Brazilian Synchrotron Facility. A Wiley–McLaren type mass spectrometer in the PEPICO mode was employed to detect and characterize the photoionization and photodissociation products of the 2‐azetidinone. The analysis and discussion of the results were supported by high‐level density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio methods. Results The adiabatic ionization energy was determined experimentally in this work as 9.745 ± 0.020 eV, and this was supported by the high level of theory result with good agreement. The heat of formation for the 2‐azetininone cation has been derived for the first time as 844.2 ± 1.9 kJ/mol. The dominant ion dissociation channel in the VUV energy range up to 21.5 eV is associated with the cation species at m/z 28. Conclusions The structural properties, VUV‐induced photoionization, and photodissociation dynamics of the 2‐azetidinone molecule in the gas phase have been successfully investigated in the energy range of 9.5–21.5 eV. PEPICO mass spectra have been determined for the first time for this molecule at several selected photon energies from which the partial ion yields were determined for all cation species produced from this molecule.