Mass spectrometry of a xylitol molecule

The technique and results of a mass spectrometric study on the yield of positive ions formed upon ionization of xylitol molecules by electron impact are discussed. The mass spectra of xylitol are studied in the range of mass numbers of 10–160 Da and in the range of bombarding electrons energies of 5–80 eV. Based on the analysis of the measured mass spectra, a scheme of xylitol fragmentation is proposed, which contains the most probable channels of formation of ion-fragments upon electron impact, when the energy of the incident electrons significantly exceeds the ionization potential of the molecule. The appearance energies of ionized fragments of xylitol are determined for the first time from the energy dependences of the effective cross-section formation of the ions upon electron impact. The dynamics of ionized fragment formation is studied in the temperature range of the initial substance evaporation of 340–410 K. The behavior of the temperature dependence indicates that the formation processes of water and oxonium cations compete with each other.