Electron transfer to pentafluorophenol and pentafluoroaniline was effected by their reaction with the metal anions Fe-, Cs-, Rb-, Ag- and Cu-, the latter formed by electrospray ionisation of solutions of the corresponding oxalate salt. Both electron transfer and dissociative electron attachment was observed. The results are compared to a recent electron attachment study to these two molecules by Omarsson et al. Based on the appearance of product ions in our study, clear differences are observed between the two methods of formation of the organic anions. Several reactions due to direct reaction with the metal anions are observed. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.