title: Characterization of Ti(6)O(4)(O(2)C(4)H(5))(8)(OCH(2)CH(3))(8) by electrospray time of flight mass spectrometry.
abstract: A titanium oxide molecular cluster prepared by hydrolysis of titanium tetraethoxide in the presence of methacrylic acid, can be characterized by electrospray time of flight mass spectrometry (ESMS-TOF). The chemistry of such systems is not well known and ESMS is a powerful technique for studying the reactions of clusters in solution. The fingerprint of the cluster fragmentation suggests formation of Ti(x)O(y) core fragments that represent commonly observed structural constructs in bulk titanium oxide metallates. The fragmentation steps provide insight into the hydrolytic conversion of this molecular sol gel intermediate into bulk TiO(2). While MS has been applied to the study of metal alkoxide hydrolysis mechanisms, mass spectra of isolated individual titanium oxide clusters have not previously been reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 32306-4390, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Khitrov
authors.forename: Geoffrey F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Strouse
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Gaumet