Coupling a Wireless Bipolar Ultramicroelectrode with Nano‐electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry: Insights into the Ultrafast Initial Step of Electrochemical Reactions

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2020-10, Vol.59 (41), p.18244-18248
• Main Authors: Hu, Jun, Zhang, Nan, Zhang, Pan‐Ke, Chen, Yun, Xia, Xing‐Hua, Chen, Hong‐Yuan, Xu, Jing‐Juan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: bipolar electrochemistry; Catecholamine; Catecholamines; Chemical reactions; Coupling (molecular); Electrochemistry; electrospray ionization; Electrospraying; Interfaces; Intermediates; Ionization; Ions; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; reactive radical intermediates; Redox reactions; ultramicroelectrodes; Vapor phases
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.202008577

We report a new mass spectrometric method for detecting electrogenerated intermediates. This approach is based on simultaneous activation of electrospray ionization and redox reaction on a wireless bipolar ultramicroelectrode, which is fabricated in the tip of a quartz nanopipette. The hollow structure of the ultramicroelectrode permits rapid transferring the transient species from electrode–electrolyte interfaces into the gas phase for mass spectrometric identification on the time scale of microseconds. The long‐sought fleeting intermediates including TPrA.+, whose lifetime in solution is only 200 μs, and catecholamine o‐semiquinone radicals, the second‐order rate constant of which is typically 109 m−1 s−1, were successfully identified, helping clarify the previously hidden reaction pathways. Accordingly, our method may have wide applicability in exploring the dynamics of many electrochemical reactions, especially their ultrafast initial steps. A method for detecting electrogenerated intermediates is based on simultaneous activation of electrospray ionization and redox reaction on a wireless bipolar ultramicroelectrode. The hollow structure of the ultramicroelectrode permits rapid transferring the transient species from electrode–electrolyte interfaces into the gas phase for mass spectrometric identification on the time scale of microseconds.