Field desorption mass spectrometry of air sensitive transition metal complexes

Handling considerations for the mass spectrometry of reactive organometallic compounds

Mass spectrometry is a powerful tool in disparate areas of chemistry, but its characteristic strength of sensitivity can be an Achilles heel when studying highly reactive organometallic compounds. A quantity of material suitable for mass spectrometric analysis often represents a tiny grain or a very dilute solution, and both are highly susceptible to decomposition due to ambient oxygen or moisture. This complexity can be frustrating to chemists and analysts alike: the former being unable to get spectra free of decomposition products and the latter often being poorly equipped to handle reactive samples. Fortunately, many creative solutions to such problems have been developed. This review summarizes some key methods for handling reactive samples in conjunction with the various ionization methods most frequently employed for their analysis.

Enabling LIFDI-MS measurements of highly air sensitive organometallic compounds: a combined MS/glovebox technique

A new setup combining a ThermoFisher Exactive Plus Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer with a liquid injection field desorption ionization (LIFDI) source directly connected to an inert atmosphere glovebox is presented. The described setup allows for the analysis of very air- and moisture sensitive samples. Furthermore, the soft nature of LIFDI ionization gives access to the molecular ions of fragile molecules. This new setup is therefore especially useful for sensitive organometallic complexes. The functionality of the new setup is tested against [(Cp)2TiCl]˙, which is known for its notorious sensitivity to air and moisture. Its drastic colour change from green to orange upon exposure to air further supports the easy detection of traces of oxygen during the experiment. In addition, we applied this setup to the mass spectrometric analysis of the qualitative composition of a Cu/Al cluster mixture, which is not accessible by other analytical methods.

Analysis of air-, moisture- and solvent-sensitive chemical compounds by mass spectrometry using an inert atmospheric pressure solids analysis probe

A novel method has been developed that enables chemical compounds to be transferred from an inert atmosphere glove box and into the atmospheric pressure ion source of a mass spectrometer whilst retaining a controlled chemical environment. This innovative method is simple and cheap to implement on some commercially available mass spectrometers. We have termed this approach inert atmospheric pressure solids analysis probe ( iASAP) and demonstrate the benefit of this methodology for two air-/moisture-sensitive chemical compounds whose characterisation by mass spectrometry is now possible and easily achieved. The simplicity of the design means that moving between iASAP and standard ASAP is straightforward and quick, providing a highly flexible platform with rapid sample turnaround.