The mass spectra of some phenyl pyridyl ketones

The mass spectra of phenyl 2-pyridyl, phenyl 3-methoxy-2-pyridyl, phenyl 4-methoxy-2-pyridyl, phenyl 5-methoxy-2-pyridyl, phenyl 6-methoxy-2-pyridyl ketones, phenyl 3-pyridyl and phenyl 6-methoxy-3-pyridyl ketones, and phenyl 4-pyridyl ketone were studied. The major fragmentation pathway of all the ketones results in the formation of[C₆H₅CO]⁺ and [C₅H₄NCO]⁺ type ions. Another fragmentation path is the loss of carbon monoxide with formation of an [M ? CO]⁺ ion after skeletal rearrangement.