Assigning structures to [C2H3O]+ ions

The problem of assigning structures to [C2H3O]+ ions produced from a wide variety of precursor molecules has been readdressed. The identification of the acetyl cation, {article}{empty}{document}CH₃ C⁺ = O{document} , from metastable peak characteristics and collisional activation mass spectra appears to be straightforward. The structure {article}{empty}{document}CH₂ = C⁺ - OH{document} is also known to exist as a stable ion. A third ion, whose structure may be represented as {article}{empty}{document}C⁺ H₂ CHO{document} or magnified image has also been characterized.