Gas-phase coordination chemistry, ligand

By the introduction of soft ionization techniques such as electrospray, it has become possible for the first time to overcome the limitations of conventional ionization methods and address the gas-phase reactivity of organometallics with an array of ligand environments. The discussion of gas-phase organometallic chemistry presented in this chapter will be strictly limited to species that bear a close resemblance to solution-phase complexes and catalysts. When compared to gas-phase coordination chemistry,examples for bona fide organometallics are still scarce, but it is safe to predict that with the growing awareness of the potential of mass spectrometric methods this gap will soon be closed. 

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