Polymer architectures via mass spectrometry and hyphenated techniques: A review.
This review covers the application of mass spectrometry (MS) and its hyphenated techniques to synthetic polymers of varying architectural complexities. The synthetic polymers are discussed as according to their architectural complexity from linear homopolymers and copolymers to stars, dendrimers, cyclic copolymers and other polymers. MS and tandem MS (MS/MS) has been extensively used for the analysis of synthetic polymers. However, the increase in structural or architectural complexity can result in analytical challenges that MS or MS/MS cannot overcome alone. Hyphenation to MS with different chromatographic techniques (2D × LC, SEC, HPLC etc.), utilization of other ionization methods (APCI, DESI etc.) and various mass analyzers (FT-ICR, quadrupole, time-of-flight, ion trap etc.) are applied to overcome these challenges and achieve more detailed structural characterizations of complex polymeric systems. In addition, computational methods (software: MassChrom2D, COCONUT, 2D maps etc.) have also reached polymer science to facilitate and accelerate data interpretation. Developments in technology and the comprehension of different polymer classes with diverse architectures have significantly improved, which allow for smart polymer designs to be examined and advanced. We present specific examples covering diverse analytical aspects as well as forthcoming prospects in polymer science.
Laboratory of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry (IOMC), Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Humboldstr. 10, 07743 Jena, Germany; Jena Center for Soft Matter (JCSM), Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Philosophenweg 7, 07743 Jena, Germany.
Sarah
S
Crotty
Department of Chemistry, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
Selim
S
Gerişlioğlu
Department of Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
Kevin J
KJ
Endres
Department of Chemistry, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA; Department of Polymer Science, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA. Electronic address: wesdemiotis@uakron.edu.
Chrys
C
Wesdemiotis
Laboratory of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry (IOMC), Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Humboldstr. 10, 07743 Jena, Germany; Jena Center for Soft Matter (JCSM), Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Philosophenweg 7, 07743 Jena, Germany. Electronic address: ulrich.schubert@uni-jena.de.
Ulrich S
US
Schubert
Hyphenation; Ion mobility; Liquid chromatography; Mass spectrometry; Polymers; Tandem mass spectrometry