University12 min

Mass spectrometry: molecular ion, isotopes, fragments

Find the molecular ion, recognise a chlorine or a bromine from its isotope pattern, and make the fragments talk — in that order.

The essentials

1

What a mass spectrum shows

Gas-phase ions, sorted by their mass-to-charge ratio m/zm/z; on the vertical axis, relative abundance. The base peak is the most intense: it is set to 100 %100\ \% and the others are normalised to it. Only ions are detected: a neutral fragment leaves no peak.
2

The molecular ion peak

Members only

3

Nominal mass, exact mass, nitrogen rule

Members only

4

Isotope patterns

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5

Landmark losses and ions

Members only

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