Organic Chemistry Research

GC/MS Analysis of Organic Compounds

The goal of this project is to incorporate the use of gas chromatography / mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis, in addition to infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, for the identification of organic products. The theory of mass spectrometry including how a mass spectrum is generated, the mechanism of molecular ion generation, simple fragmentations and interpretation of low-resolution mass spectra will be addressed through the analysis of organic products from various experiments currently conducted in the Organic Chemistry course.

The main experiment of inquiry is a Fischer Esterification reaction in which a carboxylic acid and an alcohol are reacted in the presence of an acid catalyst to produce an ester. This experiment is currently conducted in the Organic Chemistry course at Millersville and the products are routinely analyzed by IR and NMR spectroscopic methods. The focus of this research project will expand that product analysis by incorporating gas chromatography/mass spectrometry into the experiment. GC/MS will be used to separate and detect the product from any by-products formed from the reaction. The GC/MS analysis will also include the interpretation of the mass spectra, including the detection of simple rearrangements of organic fragments, to confirm the structure of the ester product. The incorporation of GC/MS analysis into organic chemistry experiments would be a valuable expansion of the spectroscopic methods available to students taking the organic chemistry course.