Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometric study of bis(imidazole-1-carboxylate) endfunctionalized polymers,

A detailed Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometric (MALDI-TOF MS) investigation of polyethylene glycol (PEG), polypropylene glycol (PPG) and polyisobutylene (PIB) bis(imidazole-1-carboxylate) esters is reported. The MS spectra of PPG and PIBb is (imidazole-1-carboxylate) esters recorded in the reflectron mode showed the presence of two additional series of peaks compared to those recorded in the linear mode, while in the case of PEG bis(imidazole-1-carboxylate) only one additional peak series appeared in the reflectron MS spectra. These additional series were attributed to the formation of fragment ions by the loss of one and two end groups in the first field-free region of the instrument. The neutral losses for the three polymers were also supported by using the post-source decay method (PSD). The observation of decreasing mass difference between the adjacent peaks from two series of polymeric ions with the increase of oligomer mass indicates the presence of PSD ions in a reflectron MALDI spectrum. The relationship between the mass of the precursor ions and those of the PSD ions and neutral loss are also discussed.