Laser-induced azomethine ylide formation and its covalent entrapment by fulleropyrrolidine derivatives during MALDI analysis.

Two novel monofunctionalized fulleropyrrolidine derivatives (Prato adducts) were prepared and characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI). MALDI experiments conducted in the positive-ion mode on pure and mixed samples of both monofunctionalized fullerene derivatives revealed the efficient formation of bisadducts (in the case of the pure samples) and mixed bisadducts (in the case of a mixed sample). Bisadducts were not observed in the ESI experiments and thus not present in the sample. A mechanism for the MALDI formation of these bisadduct ions is proposed in which an azomethine ylide fragment is formed in situ from the monofunctionalized fulleropyrrolidine species upon laser irradiation. This fragment, which can survive as an intact moiety in the gas phase in the special environment provided by the MALDI experiment, is then able to attach to a fulleropyrrolidine monoadduct which acts as a dipolarophile, thus leading to the formation of a bisadduct fullerene derivative. The unprecedented re-attachment of the azomethine ylide implies that the establishment of the ligand attainment of Prato adducts based on MALDI analysis alone can lead to wrong assignments.