Analytical plasma ion sources for elemental mass spectrometry: where are we coming from–where are we going to?

Abstract

The invention of mass spectrometry at the beginning of the 20th century has had a very important impact on science and technology. In the early days of mass spectrometry a combination of electric and magnetic sector fields was used to separate ions according to their mass to charge ratio and as an ion source a reduced pressure plasma has been applied. Nowadays, plasma source mass spectrometers have become the most powerful instrumentation for inorganic analytical chemistry. The history of plasma source mass spectrometry will be discussed in this article highlighting our own contribution and presenting a personal vision of future application where instrumentation with high mass resolving properties will still play the most important role as to get the highest possible elemental coverage.

Inductively coupled plasma- and glow discharge plasma-sector field mass spectrometry : Part I. Tutorial: Fundamentals and instrumentation

“…Additionally, this series of two papers will cover mainly the last 12 years, which is the period after the first reviews related to this topic were published. 1,2 A more comprehensive overview 3 or historic overviews 4,5 can be found elsewhere. It should be mentioned that this review does not cover all general aspects of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and therefore, we recommend all those readers who are not familiar with ICP-MS at all to read the relevant books or book chapters first.…”

“…118 Another possibility is if products differ by their ground energy and the reaction is ruled by thermodynamics, but not by kinetics as for boron. In aqueous solution, two boron species are present, B(OH) 3 and the B(OH) 4 À anion. Here 11 B prefers the trigonalplanar structure of B(OH) 3 , while 10 B prefers the tetrahedral structure of B(OH) 4 À .…”

“…Here 11 B prefers the trigonalplanar structure of B(OH) 3 , while 10 B prefers the tetrahedral structure of B(OH) 4 À . 119 In rocks preferably B(OH) 4 À is being incorporated, so that B(OH) 3 remains in the aqueous phase, which leads to isotope fractionation in nature. 120 Fractionation of C, N or S in biological processes can also be guided by a combination of kinetic and thermodynamic effects, leading to significant natural variations.…”

Simultaneous Acquisition of Elemental, Fragmental, and Molecular Information on Organometallic Compounds

“…For example, electron impact (EI) ionization, chemical ionization (CI), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI), and electrospray ionization (ESI) are widely used in current organic or biological molecule identification, while inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and glow discharge (GD) techniques are suitable for element determination. [6][7][8] For the analysis of organometallic species, EI, ESI, and MALDI sources are commonly used. [9][10][11][12] The analyte must be vaporized for EI, dissolved in a proper solution for ESI, or cocrystallized with a matrix for MALDI, which may induce decomposition of analyte and increase the chance of contamination.…”

“…The MS technique is applied to different types of compounds by the use of an appropriate ionization source. For example, electron impact (EI) ionization, chemical ionization (CI), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI), and electrospray ionization (ESI) are widely used in current organic or biological molecule identification, while inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and glow discharge (GD) techniques are suitable for element determination. − For the analysis of organometallic species, EI, ESI, and MALDI sources are commonly used. − The analyte must be vaporized for EI, dissolved in a proper solution for ESI, or cocrystallized with a matrix for MALDI, which may induce decomposition of analyte and increase the chance of contamination. Indeed, by focusing a sufficiently bright laser beam onto a solid target, with laser irradiance of 10 7 W/cm 2 , some organic molecules can be directly desorbed and ionized without matrix assistance.…”