Mass spectrometry of very large saturated hydrocarbons

Mass spectra of very large branched hydrocarbons containing up to 103 carbo n atoms were studied. New and characteristic fragmentations at branching si tes were identified. Medium-energy (similar to 20 eV) electron ionization m ass spectra were found to be most useful for structural characterization, t andem mass spectra giving important additional information. The significanc e of these studies is that other techniques for structure elucidation (e.g. NMR) have limited utility for this class of compounds. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.