Atmospheric Solid Analysis Probe-Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry: An Original Approach to Characterize Grafting on Cyclic Olefin Copolymer Surfaces

Abstract : A cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) was grafted with aryl layers from aryldiazonium salts, and then we combined infrared spectrometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and ion mobility mass spectrometry with atmospheric solid analysis probe ionization (ASAP-IM-MS) to characterize the aryl layers. ASAP is a recent atmospheric ionization method dedicated to the direct analysis of solid samples. We demonstrated that ASAP-IM-MS is complementary to other techniques for characterizing bromine and sulfur derivatives of COC on surfaces. ASAP-IM-MS was useful for optimizing experimental grafting conditions and to elucidate hypotheses around aryl layer formation during the grafting process. Thus, ASAP-IM-MS is a good candidate tool to characterize covalent grafting on COC surfaces.