Accurate identification of dimers from α-pinene oxidation using high-resolution collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry.

Interest in mass spectrometry of highly oxidized dimers from α-pinene oxidation has increased in the atmospheric chemistry field. Here, we apply high-resolution collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry (HR-CID-MS) with an atmospheric pressure ionization source to investigate in detail how α-pinene-derived dimers are detected and identified by MS. The resulting HR-CID spectra and specific fragmentation patterns suggest that a large fraction of dimer ions detected in full-scan mass spectra can be hydrogen-bonded artifact clusters and the residual small fraction includes covalently bonded actual dimers. We also show how individual fractions of the artifact clusters and actual dimers are calculated using the HR-CID spectra.