Mass Spectrometry of Some Fluornated Alcohols

The 70 eV electron impact mass spectrometric behaviour of some fluorinated alcohols, i.e. 2-fluoroethanol, 2,2,2,-trifluoroethanol, 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropan-1-ol and 1,3-difluoropropan-2-ol, was studied in detail by means of mass-analysed ion kinetic energy spectrometry, deuterium-labelling experiments and comparison with unfluorinated analogues. Composite metastable peaks related to HF losses were rationalized by invoking the presence of two concurrent decomposition pathways, the first consisting in a 1,2-elimination and the second requiring the implication of hydroxyl hydrogen. This last process and other decomposition routes suggest the presence of H bridging between the hydroxyl oxygen atom and fluorine.