The C–N dissociation energies of nitrobenzene and nitrotoluene radical anions and neutrals

The C–N dissociation energies of the radical anions of nitrobenzene and all three nitrotoluene isomers were determined by measuring the appearance energy of the NO2 fragment from collision induced dissociation in a tandem mass spectrometer. The dissociation energy of nitrobenzene radical anion is 1.99 ± 0.16 eV, o-nitrotoluene radical anion is 1.91 ± 0.14 eV, m-nitrotoluene radical anion is 2.01 ± 0.17, and p-nitrotoluene radical anion is 2.06 ± 0.21 eV. All anion bond energies are lower than the neutral C–N bond energies by at least 1 eV.