In a previous paper, coal hydrogenation oil was subjected to GC-MS analysis for the elucidation of the chemical structure for its individual components. However, the mass spectra often had an overlap of some components and the interpretation of the spectra became very difficult.
In this study, GC-MS/MS analyses, which has a superior efficiency by the combination of GC and mass separations, were applied to resolve the problems mentioned above of the GC-MS method. After the first separation of the monoaromatic fraction by a high resolution capillary column GC, specific mass numbers of the components belonging to the homologous series of the compound type were selected for the second separation into unimolecular parent ion. Daughter mass spectra derived from the unimolecular parent ion were obtained by scanning the daughter mass range at the second mass analyser.
Main peaks of Z number mass chromatogram of Z=-8, mononaphthenobenzenes, were measured for their daughter mass spectra. Acquisition of mass spectra with arrangement of Z number mass chromatorams are an effective procedure for the identification of individual compounds of coal liquid and a database of mass spectra.
