Journal Article

RETRACTED: Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization Q-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Gas-Phase High-Energy Dissociation Routes of Triarylamine Derivatives

Wang, Yi, Yang, Xiaolong, Sun, Yuanhui, Du, Xuyang, Yan, An, Zhou, Guijiang, Xu, Shipan, Wu, Shengxiu

2024

Overview

Triarylamine groups have been widely utilized in the development of high-performance charge-transporting or luminescent materials for fabricating organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In this study, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) Q-Orbitrap mass spectrometry was adopted to investigate the dissociation behaviors of these triarylamine derivatives. Specifically, taking [M+H]+ as the precursor ion, high-energy collision dissociation (HCD) experiments within the energy range from 0 to 80 eV were carried out. The results showed that triarylamine derivatives with specific structures exhibited distinct fragmentation patterns. For diarylamine, the formation of odd-electron ions was ascribed to the single-electron transfer (SET) reaction mediated by ion-neutral complexes (INCs). In the low-energy range (below 40 eV), proton transfer served as the predominant mechanism for generating even-electron ions. Conversely, in the high-energy range (60 eV and above), the INC-SET reaction dominated. The precursor ion’s structure affects compliance with the “even-electron rule”, which has exceptions. Here, even-electron ion fragmentation was energy-dependent and could deviate from the rule, yet did not conflict with its concept, reflecting dissociation complexity. This research provides insights for triarylamine-based OLED materials, facilitating analysis and identification, and is expected to aid OLED material development.

• Publisher: MDPI AG
• Subject: Atmospheric pressure / Chemical bonds / Chromatography / Efficiency / Energy / Fourier transforms / Ion beams / Mass spectrometry / Molecular structure / Organic chemicals / Scientific imaging