Combining energy-dependent electrospray ionisation with tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of inorganic compounds

The recently developed technique of energy-dependent electrospray ionisatio n mass spectrometry (EDESI-MS) has been implemented on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer such that fragmentation occurs in the collision cell rath er than at the skimmer cone. This modification enables a superior two-dimen sional map of the collision voltage versus mass-to-charge ratio to be gener ated, providing unambiguous peak assignments, This latest enhancement to th e technique is referred to as energy-dependent electrospray ionisation tand em mass spectrometry (EDESI-MS/MS). In the present work the technique has b een applied to investigate the sequential removal of ligands from the inorg anic mixed-metal anionic cluster compound [RU5CoC(CO)(16)](-), which serves to illustrate the advantages of this approach. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wil ey & Sons, Ltd.