1.2.5

Mass Spectroscopy - Analysis

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Analysis to Identify Molecules

Once a sample has passed through the mass spectrometer, we can analyze the data to identify the molecule.

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Spectrum produced

  • When the sample has passed through the mass spectrometer, a spectrum is produced by the spectrometer.
  • On this spectrum:
    • The x-axis is mass/charge ratio.
    • The y-axis is % abundance.
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Main peak

  • The spectrum produces lots of peaks, but the most important is the molecular ion peak.
    • This is the peak of the greatest mass/charge ratio.
  • This represents the mass/charge value of the molecule we are analyzing.
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Isotopes

  • Smaller peaks will cluster around the molecular ion peak.
    • These are from the same molecules but with different isotopes in them.
    • The isotopic molecules have different masses and so different mass/charge ratio values.
  • Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same proton number, but a different neutron number.
    • This means that the atoms have different numbers of neutrons.
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Fragmentation

  • Any smaller and significantly lighter peaks in the spectrum are because of fragmentation.
    • The molecule can fragment in the spectrometer.

Analysis to Calculate

Once we have the mass spectrum, we can calculate the relative atomic mass.

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Relative atomic mass

  • Relative atomic mass is the average weighted mass of an atom relative to carbon-12.
  • The key word to look at here is "average".
  • This is because its value is calculated taking into account all of its isotopes and their relative abundances.
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Using the spectrum

  • We can use the spectrum to view all the different isotopes and their relative abundance.
  • Isotopic mass is along the x-axis.
  • Isotopic abundance is along the y-axis.
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Calculation

  • We can then calculate the relative atomic mass since we have all of the isotopic masses and their relative abundances.
  • It is easiest to show how to carry out the calculation with an example - see the next slide.
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Example - boron

  • This is the mass spectrum of a sample of elemental boron (click to the next slide to see the full image).
  • Boron has two isotopes, 10B and 11B.
  • You can see from the spectrum that approximately 20% of the boron is 10B and 80% is 11B.
  • You can use this to work out the relative atomic mass:
    • 80% × 11 + 20% × 10 = 10.8
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Jump to other topics

1Structure - Models of the Particulate of Matter

2Structure - Models of Bonding & Structure

3Structure - Classification of Matter

3.1The Periodic Table: Classification of Elements

3.2Periodic Trends

3.3Group 1 Alkali Metals

3.4Halogens

3.5Noble gases, group 18

3.6Functional Groups: Classification of Organic

3.7Functional Group Chemistry

3.8Alkanes

3.9Alcohols

3.10Halogenoalkanes

4Reactivity - What Drives Chemical Reaction?

5Reactivity - How Much, How Fast & How Far?

6Reactivity - The Mechanisms of Chemical Change

7Measurement, Data Processing & Analysis

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