Gillon, Bronwyn H.Gates, Derek P.Henderson, Matthew A.Janusson, EricMcIndoe, J. Scott2017-04-242017-04-2420162016Gillon, B. H., Gates, D. P., Henderson, M. A., Janusson, E., & McIndoe, J. S. (2017). Mass spectrometric characterization of oligomeric phosphaalkenes. Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 95(3), 239-242.http://doi.org/10.1139/cjc-2016-0206http://hdl.handle.net/1828/7977Oligomeric phosphalkenes are readily characterized using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The high affinity of phosphines for silver ions permits the detection of the unadulterated polymer as [M + xAg]x+ ions (x = 2-3). When the oligomers are oxidized using H2O2, the resulting phosphine oxide polymer may be treated with sodium ions to produce [M + xNa]x+ ions (x = 2-3). Both methods predict a similar distribution of oligomers: Mn values of 3450±100 Da and a PDI of 1.09±0.01 cover both analyses. This distribution represents oligomers of the general formula Me(PMesCPh2)nH from n = 4-20 and maximizing at ~n = 10.enmass spectrometryphosphoruspolymerelectrospray ionizationoligomersPostprintDepartment of Chemistry