Cation–π interaction of Ag+ with [6]helicene: An experimental and theoretical study

Abstract By using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), it was proven that the univalent silver cation (Ag + ) forms with [6]helicene (C 26 H 16 ) the cationic complex species [Ag(C 26 H 16 )] + . Further, by means of the collision-induced dissociation (CID) experiments, the appearance energy ( AE ) of the proven complex was found to be 255.0 kJ mol −1 . Finally, applying quantum mechanical DFT calculations, the most probable structure of the resulting complex was derived.