Thermal desorption mass spectrometry of organic salts

Mass spectra of a series of alkyl, alkyl/aryl and biologically important quaternary ammonium and phosphonium compounds have been obtained by a direct thermal process. No means of ionization other than the heating of a salt coated filament is used. The spectra consist primarily of even electron ions for which decomposition schemes involving four‐center reactions are proposed. These spectra are similar to those obtained in fission fragment induced desorption, laser induced desorption and field desorption/collisional activation, but they are produced by a far simpler means.