Structural Characterization of Methylenedianiline Regioisomers by Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry, Tandem Mass Spectrometry, and Computational Strategies: I. Electrospray Spectra of 2‑Ring Isomers

Purified methylenedianiline (MDA) regioisomers were structurally characterized and differentiated using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS), and IM-MS/MS in conjunction with computational methods. It was determined that protonation sites on the isomers can vary depending on the position of amino groups, and the resulting protonation sites play a role in the gas-phase stability of the isomer. We also observed differences in the relative distributions of protonated conformations depending on experimental conditions and instrumentation, which is consistent with previous studies on aniline in the gas phase. This work demonstrates the utility of a multifaceted approach for the study of isobaric species and elucidates why previous MDA studies may have been unable to detect and/or differentiate certain isomers. Such analysis may prove useful in the characterization of larger MDA multimeric species, industrial MDA mixtures, and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) mixtures used in polyurethane synthesis.