Determination of Heats of Tautomerization of Nitrile—Ketenimine by Mass Spectrometry

Tautomerism of some nitriles has been studied by mass spectrometry. The analysis of the corresponding mass spectra has allowed some fragmentations to specific tautomers to be assigned and the heats of tautomerization to be determined through temperature effects and electron energy studies. Experimental determinations are supported by theoretical calculations. The joint analysis of mass spectrometry and DFT-B3LYP data indicate that this tautomeric equilibrium can be studied by the experimental spectrometric strategy employed.