A Quantitative Approach of the Interaction between Metal Triflates and Organic Ligands Using Electrospray Mass Spectrometry

The interaction between two Lewis ??superacid?? catalysts Zn(OTf)₂ and In(OTf)₃ and series of amide and phosphate ligands is quantitatively characterized by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). A specific feature of the ESI-MS spectra of the mixture of metal triflates and Lewis bases is the formation of ionic adducts resulting from the displacement of one triflate anion by two neutral ligands. A ligand competition model is developed, which describes the relative intensities of the ionic adducts as a function of relative ligand concentrations. The relative affinities deduced from the ligand competition method are combined in an affinity scale for the metal triflate.