| Abstract: | The mass spectra of six furfuryl compounds — namely, furfuryl alcohol, 5-furfuryl-furfuryl alcohol, difurfuryl ether, difurylmethane, 2,5-difurfurylfuran, and 4-furfuryl-2-pentenoic acid-γ-lactone — have been studied. Their fragmentation mechanisms are discussed in detail with particular emphasis on the modes that lead to the formation of aromatic fragments. The majority of the fragment ions are formed by elimination of CO and C2H2 from even-electron precursor ions and HCO from odd-electron precursor ions. Molecules containing two furan rings linked by a methylene group give mass spectra that exhibit large abundances of aromatic fragment ions. |
