Use of High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry to Identify Products from Microwave Discharges in COAL-D2O Mixtures

Reactions of carbonaceous materials and H O in microwave discharges are known to produce H₂, HCN, CO, CO₂, and light hydrocarbon gases (primarily C₁ and C₂) in varying amounts. To determine if the solid or the H₂O is the source of hydrogen in formation of the above products, Fu and Blaustein reacted coal and graphite with D₂O.¹ Low-resolution mass spectra of the gaseous products from the D₂O experiments indicated the possibility of non-deuterated and corresponding deuterated compounds in the reaction mixture. Conventional separation and analytical techniques are not applicable to mixtures of this type. This communication describes the use of a high-resolution mass spectrometer, operated at a resolution 35 percent less than theoretically required for separation of the H₂-D doublet, to electrically measure precise masses for mixtures containing micromole amounts of deuterated and non-deuterated light gases.