Gas-phase reactions of lanthanide cations with alcohols

The gas-phase reactions of the lanthanide series cations Ln+ (Ln=La-Lu, except Pm) with methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol were studied by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS). The majority of the lanthanide cations react exothermically with the alcohols, with formation of LnO+ and LnOH+ ions as main primary products. These ions participate in subsequent reactions with the alcohols that lead to Ln(OR)x(HOR)y+ species, where x=1-2 and y=0-3. The study of the reaction sequences and of the corresponding kinetics showed the existence of important differences in the relative reactivity of the lanthanide series cations, in agreement with the known data on the reactivity of these metal cations with other organic molecules. The results obtained also evidenced the similarities between the reactivity of the lanthanide series cations and of group 3 metal cations.