Development and validation of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for comprehensive detection of organophosphate esters and their degradation products in sediment

•An analytical method covering both OPEs and the degradation products was developed.•For the first time OPEs degradation products were analyzed in sediment.•The established method is based on ultrasonic-assisted extraction and HPLC-MS/MS.•LOQs of targets were 0.01–5 ng g−1 dw, most of which are lower than previous reports.•Co-occurrence of OPEs and the degradation products were studied in marine sediment.