Studies on the Electron Impact Induced Dissociation of Some Organic Compounds

The work discussed in the thesis can be considered In three separate sections: Part I: The Mass Spectra of some Diaryl Ethers. Part II: The Mass Spectra of some Naturally Occurring Phenolic Compounds. Part III: The Mass Spectra of some Carbohydrate Derivatives. Part I: The ethers used in this section are compounds containing fused aromatic rings and homologues of diphenyl ether with methyl substituents on the aromatic nuclei. The spectra of these compounds have been compared with that of diphenyl ether. The degradation of diphenyl ether by loss of carbon monoxide has been noted previously and the extent to which the corresponding reaction takes place in other ethers has been correlated with the structures of these compounds. Other correlations have been made in an attempt to explain the presence of rearranged ions which appear in the ortho-methyl ether spectra. Part II: Some derivatives of tubaic acid were investigated. It was found that mass spectrometric methods can Identify or help to identify the isoprenoid groups present In such molecules. This was confirmed by an examination of the rotenoids. The 2:3-dihydroxyrotenoids can be easily Identified by their mass spectra. Two examples are given of the partial determination of the structure of compounds of this class. An analysis has been mode of the spectra of some flavonoid compounds. Part III: A preliminary examination has been made of the mass spectra of some glycosides and sugar alcohols. Correlations have been made between spectra and structures in each case. Differences in the spectra of two methyl glycosides have been related to differences in the stereochemistry of the compounds. The spectra of all the isomeric inositols are recorded. Proposals have been made for the mechanism of degradation of these compounds