The remarkable role of solvent in reaction mechanism studies by electrospray mass spectrometry

Abstract

The solvent requirements for an organic reaction are different from those of electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis; therefore, some reaction solutions in non-ESI friendly solvents cannot be directly studied using ESI-MS. This mini account discusses some of our recent contributions in solving the challenging problems in the characterization of reactive intermediates in reaction solutions in non-ESI friendly solvents by using ESI-based mass spectrometry.