Discrimination and quantitation of halobenzoic acid positional isomers upon Th(iv) coordination by mass spectrometry

A fast and reliable mass spectrometry-based method has been developed to discriminate the positional isomers of o-, m- and p-C6H4XCO2H (X = F, Cl and Br). This is based on the distinct fragmentation patterns of isomeric ThCl4(C6H4XCO2)(-) ions generated by electrospray ionization of the solutions with C6H4XCO2H isomers and ThCl4. Moreover, the composition of these positional isomers can be conveniently quantified without any pre-treatment according to the proportion of gas-phase fragmentation products.

Automated summary

A fast and reliable mass spectrometry-based method has been developed to discriminate between the positional isomers of o-, m-, and p-C6H4XCO2H. The method relies on the distinct fragmentation patterns of isomeric ThCl4(C6H4XCO2)(-) ions generated by electrospray ionization, and allows for convenient quantification of the positional isomers without any pre-treatment.