Abstract
| I. | Introduction | 408 |
| II. | Techniques Employed to Measure Binding Energies | 409 |
| | A. Continuous‐Ejection Technique (CE) | 409 |
| | B. Equilibrium Measurements | 409 |
| | C. Kinetic Method | 410 |
| | D. Radiative Association (RA) Kinetics Method | 410 |
| | E. Threshold‐CID Experiments | 410 |
| | F. Zero‐Pressure Thermal Radiation‐Induced Dissociation Technique (ZTRID) | 411 |
| III. | Metal Ion—Ligand Binding Energies | 411 |
| | A. Lithium | 411 |
| | B. Sodium | 412 |
| | C. Magnesium | 413 |
| | D. Aluminum | 414 |
| | E. Silicon | 414 |
| | F. Potassium | 414 |
| | G. Calcium, Strontium | 415 |
| | H. Scandium | 415 |
| | I. Titanium | 415 |
| | J. Vanadium | 415 |
| | K. Chromium | 416 |
| | L. Manganese | 416 |
| | M. Iron | 416 |
| | N. Cobalt, Nickel | 419 |
| | O. Copper | 419 |
| | P. Zinc | 421 |
| | Q. Rubidium, Cesium | 421 |
| | R. Molibdenum, Tungsten | 423 |
| | S. Silver, Cadmium | 423 |
| | T. Platinum | 425 |
| References | | 425 |
This review represents a general overview on the determination of bond energies in gas‐phase organometallic systems. The paper focuses on articles published in the last 7 years, whose main scope was to experimentally measure metal ion–ligand binding energies. Therefore, studies of reactivity and characterization of ion complexes are not included, even if some of them display bond energies among the data measured. Bond energies are presented according to the metal ion complexed, in increasing order of atomic number. Periodic trends of binding energies and correlations among the various ligand are discussed. A brief summary of the most used techniques specifically devoted to gather bond energies is also provided. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Mass Spec Rev 22:407–428, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mas.10065