Cyclic Ions in the Mass Spectra of Trimethylsilyl Derivatives of Substituted o-Dihydroxybenzenes

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/oms.1210181002

The mass spectra of trimethylsilyl (TMS) ethers/methyl esters of phenolic acids containing o-dihydroxybenzene groups have base peaks at (1+) instead of the usual (1+) and (1+) that are characteristic of TMS/methyl esters of monohydroxyphenolic acids.These ions, formed by the loss of 31+88 u from the parent ion, possess a cyclic moiety as proven by substitution of deuterium atoms for hydrogen atoms in the TMS groups of the methyl esters of 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic (gallic), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic (protocatechuic) and β-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)propenoic (caffeic) acids.Although these cyclic ions are the base peaks in TMS-derivatized o-dihydroxyphenolic acid esters, similar ions represent intense peaks but not neccessarily the base peak in other derivatized compounds such as 1,2-dihydroxybenzene, 1,2-dihydroxy-3-methyl- and 1,2-dihydroxy-4-methyl-benzenes and flavan-3-ols that possess o-dihydroxybenzene groups.Compounds possessing m- or p-dihydroxybenzene groups do not form these cyclic ions; therefore, this procedure for derivatization and interpretation of mass spectra is valuable for the identification of compounds containing o-dihydroxybenzene groups in complex mixtures of isomeric compounds.