6.2.3 Competing Reactions

The mass spectrum is the net result of an extremely complex set of competing reactions. Therefore, the overall appearance of the mass spectrum arises from:

• Thermodynamics: the relative reactant and product heats of formation influence product distributions for reactions at equilibrium.
• Kinetics: Reactions with lower activation energies and entropies occur faster than reactions with higher barriers. The products of slow reactions may not be observed even if these reactions are thermodynamically 'favorable.'