Electron-impact fragmentation of polychlorinated bridged-ring systems

Abstract

Mass spectrographic analysis of a number of polychlorinated bridged-ring compounds based on the norbornene skeleton is described. The compounds examined have been grouped into classes according to their behaviour. Retro-Diels–Alder reactions (RDA), bond switching followed by 1,2-elimination, bridge scission with concomitant chlorine loss, stepwise chlorine elimination, and sigmatropic hydrogen transfer are processes which could be envisaged to account for the fragmentations observed.