ON SOME PECULIARITIES OF THE LOW-TEMPERATURE FAST-ATOM-BOMBARDMENT MASS-SPECTRA OF ETHANOL

Frozen samples of distilled ethanol were studied under the conditions of low temperature fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. The abunda nt production of ethanol clusters was observed in the -140 degrees to -110 degrees C temperature range. In addition to the earlier reported [M-n + H](+) (n = 1-11) cluster set, several new less abundant sets of the type M-n(+), [M-n-X](+) (X = 1-3, 13-19) and hydrates [M-n + H2O + H](+) were revealed. Suggestions as to the origin of these ions are made. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.