Generation of hydrogen radicals for reactivity studies in Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

An efficient technique for generation of H* (D*) radicals in Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometry is described. The method allows the probing of the reactivity of gas-phase H* radicals towards various ions isolated in the cell of an FTICR mass spectrometer. Results on interactions of H* and D* radicals with trapped positive or negative C60 fullerene ions, as well as singly charged peptide ions, are presented. Hydrogen radical addition or H/D-exchange reactions between trapped ions and free H* (D*) radicals were observed. Potential implementation of the technique for probing the gas-phase three-dimensional structures of polyatomic ions is discussed as well.