Abstract
The unimolecular decomposition of the molecular ions of methyl thiolactate (1) and ethyl thiolactate (2) upon electron impact was investigated. The metastable fragmentation of 1+· is dominated by the loss of methanol. The molecular ions 2+· decompose in a variety of ways: the loss of water, the loss of ethylene, as well as the loss of ethanol are prominent. Both methyl and ethyl thiolactates do not show the fragmentation with double hydrogen transfer, which is observed in methyl lactate (3) and ethyl lactate (4).
