Why Does the Mass Spectrum of CCl4 Have a Peak at 117 Instead of 152?

[xRadio]

Just a question, does anyone know why the mass spectrum of CCl4 does not have a molecular ion peak at 152? But instead it appears at 117.

 

[Borek]

152-117=35, obviously once it gets ionized it immediately looses one chlorine atom. But that's just logic, can't say I know much about MS.

 

[Blueshift5]

There are a few possible explanations for why the mass spectrum of CCl4 does not have a molecular ion peak at 152, but instead appears at 117. One possibility is that the molecule may undergo fragmentation during the ionization process, resulting in the loss of a chlorine atom and the formation of a smaller ion with a mass of 117. Another possibility is that the instrument used for the mass spectrometry may not have enough resolution to distinguish between the molecular ion peak at 152 and other peaks in the spectrum. It is also possible that there may be other chemical species present in the sample that are interfering with the detection of the molecular ion at 152. Further analysis and experimentation would be needed to determine the exact cause of this discrepancy.