Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Radical
cation
:
An
ion
that has both a positive
formal charge
(a
cation
) and an unpaired electron (a
radical
). Most commonly encountered as a
product
of
electron impact ionization
in a
mass spectrometer
. The "+." notation next to the brackets indicates that the location of the positive
formal charge
and unpaired electron are not specified.
Electron impact ionization
Related terms:
Mass spectrometry
,
molecular ion
,
M
,
M+1
,
M+2
,
fragmentation
,
base peak
,
carbocation
,
oxonium ion
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