Determination of the quaternary ammonium ion components of Aliquat 336 by electrospray mass spectrometry

A procedure is described for the identification and determination of the quaternary ammonium ion components of the commercial solvent extraction reagent Aliquat 336 using Electro Spray Mass Spectrometry (ESMS). The procedure is extremely rapid when compared with an existing procedure based on gas chromatography and produces comparable results in terms of accuracy and precision.