SPECTROSCOPY OF CARBENDAZIM IN THE UV-REGION BY RESONANT MULTIPHOTON IONIZATION

The spectroscopic characterisation of carbendazim (methyl 2-benzimidaz olecarbamate) has been carried out by combining laser desorption (LD) with resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) followed by tim e-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) detection. After optimization of the experimental conditions, the REMPI spectrum of carbendazim was ob tained in the region between 280 and 283 nm, with the (0.0) band and D elta nu = 0 sequence structure at 281.1 +/- 0.2 nm. The spectrum exhib its a sequence of peaks separated by approximately 69 cm(-1), consiste nt with the presence of a low-energy vibration in the ground electroni c state. This result is of value in facilitating the development of a direct and sensitive analytical method for the determination of carben dazim in a given sample by LD-REMPI-TOFMS. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B .V. All rights reserved.