The vinyloxonium cation, \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${\rm CH}_{\rm 2} = {\rm CH - }\mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}_{\rm 2}$\end{document}, a stable [C2H5O]+ species in the gas phase

AbstractThe charge stripping mass spectra of [C2H5O]+ ions permit the clear identification of four distinct species: \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${\rm CH}_{\rm 3} - {\rm O - }\mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}_{\rm 2}$\end{document}, \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${\rm CH}_{\rm 3} - \mathop {\rm C}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H - OH}$\end{document}, and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${\rm CH}_{\rm 2} = {\rm CH - }\mathop {\rm O}\limits^{\rm + } {\rm H}_{\rm 2}$\end{document}. The latter, the vinyloxonium ion, has not been identified before. It is generated from ionized n‐butanol and 1,3‐propanediol. Its heat of formation is estimated to be 623±12 kJ mol−1. The charge stripping method is more sensitive to these ion structures than conventional collisional activation, which focuses attention on singly charged fragment ions.