Gas phase protonation and subsequent dissociations in β‐amino alcohols as a function of exoergicity and interfunctional distance

The gas phase protonation of β‐amino alcohols and subsequent water loss is investigated in an ion cyclotron resonance spectrometer. It is found that the loss of water is correlated with the formation of oxonium ions (OH protonation). A relationship is found between the extent of internal stabilization at short interfunctional distance in protonated amono alcohols and the exoergicity of protonation required to induce the loss of a water molecule.