Characterization of Ti6O4(O2C4H5)8(OCH2CH3)8 by electrospray time of flight mass spectrometry

AbstractA 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 TixOy 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 TiO2. 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