spectroscopy- chapter 17 Flashcards
1
Q
what does the mass spectrometer detect
A
the mass-to-charge ration (m/z) of the molecular ion which gives the molecular mass of the compound
2
Q
what is the molecular ion
A
when an organic compound is placed in the mass spectrometer it loses an electron and forms a positive (the molecular ion)
3
Q
what is fragmentation
A
a process where the molecular ions is mass spectrometry are broken down into smaller pieces known as fragments
4
Q
what are fragment ions formed from
A
the breakdown of the molecular ions
5
Q
what does the simplest fragmentation break
A
a molecular ion into two species- a positively charged fragment ion and a radical
any positive ions forms will be detected by the mass spectrometer but the uncharged radicals are not detected
