Detection of the Short‐Lived Radical Cation Intermediate in the Electrooxidation of N,N‐Dimethylaniline by Mass Spectrometry
Abstract
The N,N‐dimethylaniline (DMA) radical cation DMA.+, a long‐sought transient intermediate, was detected by mass spectrometry (MS) during the electrochemical oxidation of DMA. This was accomplished by coupling desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) MS with a waterwheel working electrode setup to sample the surface of the working electrode during electrochemical analysis. This study clearly shows that DESI‐based electrochemical MS is capable of capturing electrochemically generated intermediates with half‐lives on the order of microseconds, which is 4–5 orders of magnitude faster than previously reported electrochemical mass spectrometry techniques.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jul 31, 2015
- Source ID
- 10.1002/ange.201506316
Entities
People
- Hao Chen
- Richard Zare
- Timothy A. Brown
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- National Science Foundation
- University of Utah