Mass spectrometry of the xylitol molecule

We describe a method and presents results of a mass-spectrometric investigation of the yield of positive ions formed as a result of the direct and dissociative ionization of xylitol molecules by electron impact. The mass spectra of xylitol in a range of ion mass numbers within 1–170 Da and electron impact energies 5–80 eV were measured at various temperatures. The ionization energy of xylitol and the appearance energies of related fragment ions were determined for the first time from energy dependences of the effective electron-impact ionization cross sections. The dynamics of formation of the molecular-fragment ions of xylitol by electron impact was studied in the interval of sample evaporation temperatures within 340–400 K.