Mass spectrometry in organometallic chemistry Check Access

There are unique challenges associated with applying mass spectrometry (MS) to the analysis of organometallic compounds. High reactivity, a lack of volatility, and/or sensitivity to heat, oxygen and water all conspire to make the transfer of material into the gas phase without decomposition fraught with difficulty, and low polarity provides the additional complication that ionisation is not always trivial. Various methodological and technological developments over the last decade have improved the situation, but organometallic chemists are still faced with a bewildering array of options and there is yet to emerge a one-size-fits-all solution.