Efficient structural characterization of poly(methacrylic acid) by activated-electron photodetachment dissociation

Characterization of end-groups in poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) was achieved using tandem mass spectrometry after activated-electron photodetachment dissociation (activated-EPD). In this technique, multiply deprotonated PMAA oligomers produced in the negative-ion mode of electrospray ionization were oxidized into radical anions upon electron photodetachment using a 220 nm laser wavelength, and further activated by collision. In contrast to conventional collision induced dissociation of negatively charged PMAA, which mainly consists of multiple dehydration steps, fragmentation of odd-electron species is shown to proceed via a radical-induced decarboxylation, followed by reactions involving backbone bond cleavages, giving rise to product ions containing one or the other oligomer termination. A single radical-induced mechanism accounts for the four main fragment series observed in MS/MS. The relative position of the radical and of the anionic center in distonic precursor ions determines the nature of the reaction products. Experiments performed using PMAA sodium salts allowed us to account for relative abundances of product ions in series obtained from PMAA, revealing that ion stability is ensured by hydrogen bonds within pairs of MAA units.