On the determination of underivatised fatty alcohol ethoxylates by electrospray ionisation–mass spectrometry

The oligomers of fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAEs) exhibit large sensitivity differences in mass spectrometry with electrospray ionisation (ESI–MS) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). Standards of the oligomers from m = 1 to 7 ethylene oxide units (EOs) and linear alkyl chains from n = 10 to 18 carbon atoms were infused to examine the relative sensitivities or response factors in several media. The response factors of the [M + H]+ and [M + Na]+ peaks in 9:1 acetonitrile/water and methanol/water media containing acid buffers increased following irregular patterns when n and m increased. In methanol/water the response factors depended on the parity of m, being larger than the average trend for the oligomers with an even value of m with respect to those having an odd value. This was attributed to the presence of an uncompensated C–O–C or C–O–H dipole in the former oligomers. The advantages of using ESI over APCI and of measuring the [M + H]+ peaks in an acid methanol/water medium containing 0.1 M HCl are discussed. The advantages and limitations of using models of the response factors to evaluate oligomer concentrations with a reduced set of selected standards are examined. The determination of underivatised FAEs using acid media was made compatible with previous HPLC separation by implementing either a triconcentric nebulizer fed with an acid liquid sheath, or a capillary T-union inserted between the column outlet and the biconcentric nebulizer, and fed with an acid stream provided by a syringe pump.