Analysis of Quaternary Ammonium Salt Cationic Surfactants by Mass Spectrometry

EI/MS and ESI/MS were used for the analysis of quaternary ammonium salt cationic surfactants.Because such surfactants can be dissociated into quaternary ammonium cation and anion in solution,it is possible to analyze and characterize them by the positive mode of ESI/MS,also to determine the anion within surfactant molecule,such as Cl~(-),Br~(-) and NO~-_3.This method can be used to analyze the structure of quaternary ammonium salt cationic surfactants.