The main theme of this thesis was the study of reaction kinetics using mass spectrometric methods. To this end, various reactions were investigated using electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), sometimes combined with ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). By using Delayed Reactant Labelling (DRL), the behaviour of the ions detected by ESI-MS could be studied, and information on the kinetics could be obtained. A Python programme was also developed that made it easy to model DRL experiments, enabling kinetic rate constants to be determined and intermediate concentrations to be predicted. These experiments were further used to investigate mechanisms and make predictions about product distribution.
Matthijs Hellinghuizen was born on 25 January 1998 in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. After secondary school, he obtained a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Chemistry at Radboud University Nijmegen. During his studies, he developed an interest in (metal)organic chemistry, mechanistic discoveries, various analytical techniques and many other topics within chemistry. His internships focused on supramolecular chemistry, isomerisation and ion mobility mass spectrometry. Matthijs obtained his master’s degree cum laude in 2021 and began his PhD research that same year. His PhD research focused on reaction monitoring using ESI-MS and Delayed Reactant Labelling, and the use of the data obtained to derive kinetic information about the reactions.