title: Elusive Reaction Intermediates in Solution Explored by ESI-MS: Reverse Periscope for Mechanistic Investigations.
abstract: Just as periscopes allow a submarine to visually search for objects above the surface of the sea, in a reversed periscope fashion electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) can analyze the compounds at the gas phase/liquid phase interface for chemical entities which may exist in solution. The challenge is the identification and structural characterization of key elusive reaction intermediates in chemical transformations, intermediates which are able to explain how chemical processes occur. This Minireview summarizes recent selected publications on the use of ESI-MS techniques for studying solution intermediates of homogeneous chemical reactions.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche e Chimiche, Università dell'Aquila, Via Vetoio, Coppito, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9592-3606
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Iacobucci
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche e Chimiche, Università dell'Aquila, Via Vetoio, Coppito, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2773-6494
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reale
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche e Chimiche, Università dell'Aquila, Via Vetoio, Coppito, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy. francesco.deangelis@univaq.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8354-6820
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Angelis
keywords: analytical methods; homogeneous catalysis; mass spectrometry; multicomponent reactions; reaction mechanisms