An Effective Approach to Flash Vacuum Thermolytic Studies

Flash vacuum thermolysis in combination with field ionization mass spectrometry, supplementary with collision activated spectra of the single field ionized molecules, is shown to be a facile and highly informative method for studying even very complex mixtures of primarily formed products in the gas phase thermolysis of organic molecules. The method allows quantitative detection of substances with half lifes t1/2 > 10−3 sec. A detailed description of the apparatus, which offers the possibility of studying gas phase thermolyses over a wide range of temperatures (300—1400 K), and the method is given, and possible applications discussed.