Studies of Heterogeneous/Homogeneous Ion-Molecule Reactions by Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry

The general concepts, features and applications of ambient ionization mass spectrometry for studying the heterogeneous/homogeneous ion-molecule reactions are reviewed. Important ambient ionization mass spectrometric methods and their applications in organic chemistry are summarized, focusing on SESI (secondary electrospray ionization), DESI (desorption electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry), ESSI (electrosonic spray ionization), EESI (extractive electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry), ELDI (electrospray-assisted laser desorption/ionization), LTP (low-temperature plasma probe) and APTDI (atmospheric-pressure thermal desorption ionization) technologies. At the same time, the advantages of ambient ionization mass spectrometry in studying organic reactions allow chemists to explore new type of organic reactions, probe reaction mechanisms and to intercept/characterize transient reactive intermediates in ambient condition.