Fragmentation of Saturated Hydrocarbons upon Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization Is Caused by Proton-Transfer Reactions

Gas-Phase Reactivity of Quinoline-Based Singlet Oxenium Cations

Isomeric quinolyloxenium cations were generated in the gas phase in an ion trap mass spectrometer to explore their reactions. The structures of some products were identified via collision-activated dissociation experiments involving model compounds to demonstrate that they have the expected heavy atom connectivity. The lack of radical reactions suggests that the cations have closed-shell singlet electronic ground states. Calculations (CASPT2/CASSCF(16,14)/cc-pVTZ//CASSCF(16,14)/cc-pVTZ) predict that their closed-shell singlet (1A') ground states are lower in energy by ca. 25 kcal mol-1 than their lowest-lying excited states. All cations are reactive toward dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl sulfide, and allyl iodide and most toward water and moderately reactive toward cyclohexane, reflecting their strongly electrophilic nature. They form adducts with nucleophiles in exothermic reactions (ca. 50 kcal mol-1 for dimethyl sulfide) that can fragment or be stabilized via IR emission. Most water adducts spontaneously isomerize to lower-energy tautomers. The nucleophiles preferentially add to those carbon atoms in the benzene ring that have the greatest positive charge (but not the carbonyl carbon). The cations react with cyclohexane via hydride abstraction by the oxygen atom. This is the only reaction that initially involves the oxygen atom and hence reflects the formally positively charged, monovalent oxygen atom in these cations.

Rapid online analysis of n-alkanes in gaseous streams via APCI mass spectrometry

Online monitoring of dynamic chemical processes involving a wide volatility range of hydrocarbon species is challenging due to long chromatographic measurement times. Mass spectrometry (MS) overcomes chromatographic delays. However, the analysis of n-alkane mixtures by MS is difficult because many fragment ions are formed, which leads to overlapping signals of the homologous series. Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) is suitable for the analysis of saturated hydrocarbons and is the subject of current research. Still, although APCI is a "soft ionization" technique, fragmentation is typically inevitable. Moreover, it is usually applied for liquid samples, while an application for online gas-phase monitoring is widely unexplored. Here, we present an automated APCI-MS method for an online gas-phase analysis of volatile and semi-volatile n-alkanes. Mass spectra for n-heptane and n-decane reveal [M-H]+, [M-3H]+ and [M-3H+H2O]+ as abundant ions. While [M-H]+ and [M-3H]+ show an excessive fragmentation pattern to smaller CnH2n+1+ and CnH2n-1+ cations, [M-3H+H2O]+ is the only relevant signal within the CnH2n+1O+ ion group, i.e., no chain cleavage is observed. This makes [M-3H+H2O]+ an analyte-specific ion that is suitable for the quantification of n-alkane mixtures. A calibration confirms the linearity of C7 and C10 signals up to concentrations of ~1000-1500 ppm. Moreover, validated concentration profiles are measured for a binary C7/C10 mixture and a five-alkane C7/C10/C12/C14/C20 mixture. Compared to the 40-min sampling interval of the reference gas chromatograph, MS sampling is performed within 5 min and allows dynamic changes to be monitored.

Silver Ion High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry: A Tool for Analyzing Cuticular Hydrocarbons

Aliphatic hydrocarbons (HCs) are usually analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) or matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. However, analyzing long-chain HCs by GC is difficult because of their low volatility and the risk of decomposition at high temperatures. MALDI cannot distinguish between isomeric HCs. An alternative approach based on silver ion high-performance liquid chromatography (Ag-HPLC) is shown here. The separation of HC standards and cuticular HCs was accomplished using two ChromSpher Lipids columns connected in series. A gradient elution of the analytes was optimized using mobile phases prepared from hexane (or isooctane) and acetonitrile, 2-propanol, or toluene. HCs were detected by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (APCI-MS). Good separation of the analytes according to the number of double bonds, cis/trans geometry, and position of double bonds was achieved. The retention times increased with the number of double bonds, and trans isomers eluted ahead of cis isomers. The mobile phase significantly affected the mass spectra of HCs. Depending on the mobile phase composition, deprotonated molecules, molecular ions, protonated molecules, and various solvent-related adducts of HCs were observed. The optimized Ag-HPLC/APCI-MS was applied for characterizing cuticular HCs from a flesh fly, Neobellieria bullata, and cockroach, Periplaneta americana. The method made it possible to detect a significantly higher number of HCs than previously reported for GC or MALDI-MS. Unsaturated HCs were frequently detected as isomers differing by double-bond position(s). Minor HCs with trans double bonds were found beside the prevailing cis isomers. Ag-HPLC/APCI-MS has great potential to become a new tool in chemical ecology for studying cuticular HCs.

Proton Affinities of Alkanes

Chemical characterization of complex mixtures of large alkanes is critically important for many fields, including petroleomics and the development of renewable transportation fuels. Tandem mass spectrometry is the only analytical method that can be used to characterize such mixtures at the molecular level. Many ionization methods used in mass spectrometry involve proton transfer to the analyte. Unfortunately, very few proton affinity (PA) values are available for alkanes. Indeed, previous research has shown that most protonated alkanes (MH⁺) are not stable but fragment spontaneously via the elimination of a hydrogen molecule to form [M - H]⁺ ions. Here, the PAs of several n-alkanes and alkylcyclohexanes containing 5-8 carbon atoms, n-pentane, n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane, cyclohexane, methylcyclohexane, and ethylcyclohexane, were determined via bracketing experiments by using a linear quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. Monitoring the formation of the [M - H]⁺ ions in reactions between the alkanes and protonated reference bases with known PAs revealed that the PAs of all the alkanes fell into the range 721 ± 20 kJ mol^-1. In order to obtain a more accurate estimate of the relative PAs of different alkanes, two alkanes were introduced simultaneously into the ion trap and allowed to react with the same protonated reference base. Based on these experiments, the longer the alkyl chain in an n-alkane or alkylcyclohexane the greater the PA. Further, when considering alkanes with the same number of carbon atoms, the PAs of those with a cyclohexane ring were found to be greater than those with no such ring.

Differential Organic Contaminant Ionization Source Detection and Identification in Environmental Waters by Nontargeted Analysis

The development of nontargeted analysis (NTA) methods to assess environmental contaminants of emerging concern, which are not commonly monitored, is paramount, especially when no previous knowledge on the identity of the pollution source is available. We compared complementary ionization techniques, namely electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), in the detection and identification of organic contaminants in tap and surface waters from South Florida. Furthermore, the performance of a simple rationalized NTA method was assessed by analyzing 10 complex mixtures as part of the US Environmental Protection Agency's Non-targeted Analysis Collaborative Trial interlaboratory study, where limitations of the NTA approach have been identified (e.g., number of employed databases, false positives). Different water bodies displayed unique chemical features that can be used as chemical fingerprints for source tracking and discrimination. The APCI technique detected at least threefold as many chemical features as ESI in environmental water samples, corroborating the fact that APCI is more energetic and can ionize certain classes of compounds that are traditionally difficult to ionize by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Kendrick mass defect plots and Van Krevelen diagrams were applied to elucidate unique patterns and theoretical chemical space regions of anthropogenic organic compounds belonging to homologous series or similar classes covered by ESI and APCI. Overall, APCI and ESI were established as complementary, expanding the detected NTA chemical space which would otherwise be underestimated by a single ionization source operated in a single polarity setting. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:1154-1164. © 2021 SETAC.

Exploring and modeling the ion mobility spectrometry of perindopril: Example of protonation-dissociation reactions in large molecules

The current research is constructed for considering the chemical ionization and dissociation of perindopril in the positive mode of corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry. Four product ion peaks are observed in the ion mobility spectrum of perindopril erbumine at the cell temperature of 473 K. These peaks are assigned through the obtained intensity variation analysis in the ion mobility spectra over the elapsed time accompanied by the calculations backed by the validated density functional theory (DFT). In this regard, the most stable ionic species associated with each peak and the corresponding reliable generation pathways are found by the well-confirmed meta hybrid density functional method, M06-2X. The peaks are assigned to the protonated perindopril and its dissociation products, including counter ion and the related fragment ions. However, the structures of the neutral perindopril in the gas phase are thoroughly assessed to find a more stable one. The predicted chemical ionization products by the theory are in excellent agreement with our presented experiment here. Theoretical evaluations demonstrated that the production of a fragment by dissociation process occurs when perindopril gets a proton from the ionization region. Also, without protons, there is no dissociation process. Therefore, our mechanism investigated here is the proton transfer one. All possible sites of perindopril are considered theoretically for protonation along with their possible reactions. In addition to the computed PES, the assigned ions for obtained spectra are confirmed by the computed equilibrium constants and rate constants. Our theoretical results show that the peak of the main fragment is for M-CH₃ CH₂ OH produced by a reaction pathway involving no barrier. This study opens new perspectives in interpreting large molecules spectra for future studies.

Gas Chromatography-Atmospheric Pressure Inlet-Mass Spectrometer Utilizing Plasma-Based Soft Ionization for the Analysis of Saturated, Aliphatic Hydrocarbons

Soft ionization by a chemical reaction in transfer (SICRIT) is applied to couple gas chromatography (GC) to a high-resolution atmospheric pressure inlet mass spectrometer. These instruments are generally used in combination with liquid chromatography systems (LC-MS). Ionization of alkanes is not possible here with conventional electrospray ionization. Alternatively, separate GC-electron ionization (EI)-MS is employed for the analysis of nonpolar substances like alkanes, however, with the inherent challenge of strong fragmentation. In the case of alkanes, the determination of molecular masses becomes nearly impossible in complex hydrocarbon mixtures because of the wealth of similar fragment ions and the absence of the molecular ion signal. SICRIT, a soft ionization technique based on dielectric barrier discharge (DBDI), produces characteristic oxidized cations from alkanes that can be directly correlated to their molecular mass. Isotope labeling experiments reveal an ionization mechanism via hydride abstraction and reaction with water. Soft ionization can be achieved for iso- and n-alkanes, with very little fragmentation, enabling the determination of their molecular mass. Calibrations for n-alkanes from C10 to C30 were performed exhibiting high linearity, reproducibility, and sensitivity with an average LOD of 69 pg (on column). Measurements of diesel fuel samples are compared to traditional GC-EI-MS. The presented method combines sensitivity and easy handling of a GC-EI-MS with the determination of molecular mass commonly only achieved with field ionization (FI)-MS, while using existing and highly optimized mass spectrometers commonly coupled with LC. Additionally, many other analytes such as (alkylated-) PAHs could be detected simultaneously in the diesel sample.

Comprehensive Composition, Structure, and Size Characterization for Thiophene Compounds in Petroleum Using Ultrahigh-Resolution Mass Spectrometry and Trapped Ion Mobility Spectrometry

Thiophene compounds are the main concern of petroleum desulfurization, and their chemical composition and molecular configuration have critical impacts on thermodynamic and kinetic processes. In this work, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) was employed for effective ionization of thiophene compounds in petroleum with complex matrix, in which carbon disulfide was used for generating predominant [M]^+• ions without the need of derivatization as for electrospray ionization. APCI coupled with ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (UHRMS) was successfully applied to the composition characterization of thiophene compounds in both a low boiling petroleum fraction and a whole crude oil. APCI coupled with trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS) was developed to determine the shape and size of thiophene compounds, providing configuration information that affects the steric hindrance and diffusion behavior of reactants in the desulfurization reaction, which has not been previously reported. Moreover, the comprehensive experimental structural data, expressed as the collision cross section (CCS) of the ions as surrogates of molecules, provided clues to the factors affecting the desulfurization reactivity of thiophene compounds. Further exploration showed that not only qualitative analysis of thiophene compounds can be achieved from the correlation between m/z and CCS, but also molecular size was found to be correlated with CCS that can be used as structural analysis. Overall, the molecular composition and dimension analysis together can provide substantial information for the desulfurization activity of thiophene compounds, facilitating the desulfurization process studies and catalyst design.