Fragmentation study and analysis of benzoylurea insecticides and their analogs by liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry

Two insecticides, diflubenzuron and hexaflumuron, and their analogs have been separated by liquid chromatography (LC) and their fragmentation mechanisms were studied by electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry (ESI-MSn) in both positive- and negative-ion modes. Sequential product ion fragmentation experiments were performed in order to explain the degradation pathways and identify their predominant fragment ions. It was indicated that the characteristic fragmentations are the loss of neutral molecules such as HF, HNO2, and HCl to form stable ring structure or the cleavage of the acyl amine to form conjugated structure. Furthermore, the separation and determination of two benzoylurea (BU) insecticides and their analogs in the water samples from Weiming Lake have been described by LC–ESI-MS in negative mode. By the use of deprotonated molecule for quantitative analysis at low capillary exit voltage, low detection limits, good linearity and reproducibility for standard solutions were presented.