The McLafferty rearrangement is a reaction observed in mass spectrometry. It is sometimes found that a molecule containing a keto-group undergoes β-cleavage, with the gain of the γ-hydrogen atom. This rearrangement may take place by a radical or ionic mechanism.
The reaction
A description of the reaction was first published by the American chemist Fred McLafferty in 1959.
References
McLafferty rearrangement Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA