US EPA

2816376 

Journal Article 

MASS SPECTRAL FRAGMENTATION PATHWAYS OF PHTHALATE ESTERS BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY 

Yin, P; Chen, H; Liu, Xin; Wang, Q; Jiang, Y; Pan, R 

2014 

Yes 

Analytical Letters
ISSN: 0003-2719
EISSN: 1532-236X 

47 

9 

1579-1588 

10.1080/00032719.2013.879658 

WOS:000337357600011 

Gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was applied to study the mass spectral fragmentation of phthalate esters. The base peaks of phthalate esters with alkyl side chains (except dimethyl phthalate) were m/z 149, indicating that their fragmentation pathways were similar. The base peaks of benzyl butyl phthalate and dibutoxyethyl phthalate were also at m/z 149. Because of the presence of benzyl groups and butoxy groups in the side chains, their mass spectral fragmentation pathways were different from those of phthalate esters with alkyl side chains. The base peaks of dimethyl phthalate and diphenyl phthalate were m/z 163 and m/z 225, respectively, which corresponded to the fragments produced by alpha-cleavage of their molecular ion peaks. The base peaks of dimethoxyethyl phthalate and diethoxyethyl phthalate were m/z 59 and m/z 72, respectively, which corresponded to fragments produced by McLafferty rearrangement of their molecular ions. The fragmentation pathways provide fundamental information for the determination of phthalate esters and their metabolites. 

Fragmentation pathway; Gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; Phthalate esters