Figure 6.
Semiquantitative potential energy diagram for the reaction pathway for CID of linear a4. In this simplified diagram the relative energies for each chemical structure are shown as a function of the reaction coordinate, as well as the transition state energies for interconversion. The linear imine and cyclic structures are almost isoenergetic. The energy of the unassigned structure is not known but cannot be higher than either the linear or cyclic structures, given its high abundance. The height of the transition states are lower in energy than the sequential dissociation to smaller CID products.