A new membrane inlet interface of a vacuum ultraviolet lamp ionization miniature mass spectrometer for on-line rapid measurement of volatile organic compounds in air

A review of advanced helical fibers: formation mechanism, preparation, properties, and applications

As a unique structural form, helical structures have a wide range of application prospects. In the field of biology, helical structures are essential for the function of biological macromolecules such as proteins, so the study of helical structures can help to deeply understand life phenomena and develop new biotechnology. In materials science, helical structures can give rise to special physical and chemical properties, such as in the case of spiral nanotubes, helical fibers, etc., which are expected to be used in energy, environment, medical and other fields. The helical structure also has unique charm and application value in the fields of aesthetics and architecture. In addition, helical fibers have attracted a lot of attention because of their tendrils' vascular geometry and indispensable structural properties. In this paper, the development of helical fibers is briefly reviewed from the aspects of mechanism, synthesis process and application. Due to their good chemical and physical properties, helical fibers have a good application prospect in many fields. Potential problems and future opportunities for helical fibers are also presented for future studies.

Radial Electric Field Driven Collision-Induced Dissociation in a Miniature Continuous Atmospheric Pressure Interfaced Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer

Miniature ion trap mass spectrometry with the unique ability of tandem-in-time analysis is extensively used in public security and environmental pollution detection. In this study, a novel radial electric field driven collision-induced dissociation (REFD-CID) is presented with high fragmentation efficiency for different species by adjusting the float DC, the initial kinetic energy of ions, and the pressure in a miniature continuous atmospheric pressure interfaced ion trap mass spectrometer (CAPI-ITMS). It is noteworthy that multiple fragment ions ([M+H-nC2H4]+, where n = 1, 2, 3) of triethyl phosphate were observed with a single injection of ions. The underlying mechanism of the REFD-CID revealed that the enhanced radial electric field by modulation of the float DC drove ions toward regions of intense RF field where broadband heating and dissociation of ions took place through theoretical simulations. Finally, the REFD-CID was utilized to improve the instrument performances. The existence of reagent ions led to a severe space charge effect as the ion injection duration of the CAPI-ITMS was extended to enhance the sensitivity of aniline. Through selective fragmentation of reagent ions, peak broadening and mass shift were eliminated, and meanwhile, a 28-fold improvement of aniline in a signal-to-noise ratio was achieved with the ion injection duration varying from 50 to 2500 ms. Moreover, isomeric illicit drugs (JWH-018 and acetylcodeine) were distinguished by generating multiple characteristic fragment ions, demonstrating potential applications in the identification of synthetic illicit drugs.

Hexapole-Assisted Continuous Atmospheric Pressure Interface for a High-Pressure Photoionization Miniature Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer

Miniature mass spectrometers are powerful tools for on-site chemical analysis in the fields of homeland security, personal healthcare, and environmental monitoring. This study presents a novel hexapole-assisted continuous atmospheric pressure interface for a high-pressure photoionization miniature ion trap mass spectrometer (HA-HPPI-IT). Efficient ion transmission was achieved by combining radial focusing by an RF electric field and axial driving by gas flow, which was demonstrated by SIMION simulation and experimental verification. The pressure in the ionization-transmission chamber and the inner diameter of the skimmer were optimized, which helped in determining the number density of product ions and affected the ion transmission in the hexapole, respectively. After systematic optimizations, about 16-fold increase in signal intensity was achieved as the RF amplitude was varied from 140 to 400 V_pp, and a limit of detection of 1 ppbv was obtained. In addition, the HA-HPPI-IT exhibited high stability and the relative standard deviation was as low as 5.47%. Finally, the apparatus was applied for discovering the simulated spot for illicit drug synthesis by detecting toluene and propiophenone released to air and monitoring the evolutions of perchloroethylene residues from dry-cleaned clothes.

Recent advances on SOA formation in indoor air, fate and strategies for SOA characterization in indoor air - A review

Recent studies proves that indoor air chemistry differs in many aspects from atmospheric one. People send up to 90 % of their life indoors being exposed to pollutants present in gas, particle and solid phase. Particle phase indoor is composed of particles emitted from various sources, among which there is an indoor source - secondary chemical reactions leading to formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Lately, researchers' attentions turned towards the ultrafine particles, for there are still a lot of gaps in knowledge concerning this field of study, while there is evidence of negative influence of ultrafine particles on human health. Presented review sums up current knowledge about secondary particle formation in indoor environment and development of analytical techniques applied to study those processes. The biggest concern today is studying ROS, for their lifetime in indoor air is very short due to reactions at the very beginning of terpene oxidation process. Another interesting aspect that is recently discovered is monoterpene autooxidation process that leads to HOMs formation that in turn can influence SOA formation yield. A complex studies covering gas phase and particle phase characterization, but also toxicological studies are crucial to fully understand indoor air chemistry leading to ultrafine particle formation.

Photoionization-induced NO+ chemical ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for rapid measurement of aldehydes and benzenes in vehicles

In-vehicle air pollution has become a major concern to public health in recent years. The traditional analytical methods for detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) pollutants in air are based on gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), including complicated pretreatment and separation procedures, which are not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also incapable of simultaneously measuring both aldehydes and benzenes. In this work, a new photoionization-induced NO⁺ chemical ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PNCI-TOFMS) was developed for real-time and continuous measurement of aldehydes and benzenes in vehicles. High-intensity NO⁺ reactant ions could be generated by photoionization of NO reagent gas, and efficient chemical ionization between NO⁺ reactant ions and analyte molecules occurred to produce adduct ions M·NO⁺ at an elevated ion source pressure of 800 Pa. Consequently, the achieved LODs for aldehydes and benzenes were down to sub-ppbv within 60 s. The analytical capacity of this system was demonstrated by continuous and online monitoring of in-vehicle VOCs in a used car, exhibiting broad potential applications of the PNCI-TOFMS in air pollutants monitoring and in-vehicle air quality analysis.

Development of membrane inlet photoionization ion trap mass spectrometer for trace VOCs analysis

With the development of instrumental miniaturization, the portable mass spectrometer is becoming a new tool for on-site rapid analysis of environmental samples. Membrane inlet (MI) and photoionization (PI) are two commonly used sampling and ionization techniques, respectively, as they both exhibit detection selectivity for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this paper, a membrane inlet photoionization ion trap mass spectrometer was developed for the direct analysis of VOCs in gaseous samples. With the new structure and timing design, various operation modes were proposed and tested. In particular, the use of pulse carrier gas can integrate the appropriate pressure conditions required by each module, thus improving the efficiency of analyte transport, ionization, and mass analysis. The detection limit of sub-ppb was obtained, and the response time can be greatly reduced by increasing the sample flow rate. Furthermore, the capability of selective enrichment for organic analytes was also realized by using a special accumulation mode with a modified sequence, which is easy to operate because no additional devices are needed.

A sandwich temperature control membrane inlet mass spectrometer for dissolved gases and volatile organic compounds in aqueous solution

A sandwich temperature control membrane inlet system based on a miniature mass spectrometer is presented that demonstrates improved analytical performance for the measurement of dissolved gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in aqueous solution. Aqueous solution is directly brought to the monolayer flat membrane interface at a constant flow rate. A heating resistor and a thermocouple are fixed on the side of the membrane and aqueous solution respectively. This new strategy allows for a temperature compensation method, affording an improvement of sensitivity and a reduction of response time compared with the conventional heating solution temperature control strategy. Furthermore, a static heating mode is applied to effectively remove the memory effect. Automatic sampling and measurement are achieved by using the membrane inlet system with silicone sheeting of 50 μm thickness. The vacuum is below 3 × 10^-5 Torr, which can make the instrument work normally. A good linear response is observed for benzene in the range of 0.1 ppm-10 ppm and the detection limit is 50 ppb. The analytical capacity of this system is demonstrated by the on-line analysis of VOCs in aqueous solution, in which the dominant ions are detected rapidly. The results indicate that the sandwich temperature control membrane inlet mass spectrometer (STC-MIMS) has a potential application for on-line analyzing organic pollution in aquatic environments.

Determination of absolute photoionization cross-sections of some aromatic hydrocarbons

RATIONALE

Aromatic hydrocarbons play an important role in the formation and growth of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and soot particles. Measurements of their absolute photoionization cross-sections (PICSs), that benefit the quantitative investigation of mass spectrometry, are still lacking, however.

METHODS

PICSs of some aromatic hydrocarbons were measured with tunable synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry (SVUV-PIMS). Nitric oxide and benzene were chosen as standard references for PICS calibration, since their photoionization cross-sections are well documented in the literature. Binary liquid mixtures of the investigated molecules and their specific solvents were used in the measurements.

RESULTS

The investigated aromatics include naphthalene, phenanthrene, 1-methylnaphthalene, indene, 2-/3-/4-methylphenylacetylene, 2-methylindene, diphenylacetylene, 1-/2-ethynylnaphthalene and acenaphthylene. Photo-induced fragments from the molecules were also observed with increasing photon energy.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on our measurements and literature data, PICSs of most aromatic molecules have very similar values beyond their ionization energies. However, molecules that contain the phenylacetylene structure have PICSs higher than other aromatics.

Time-correlated Single Ion Counting Mass Spectrometer with Long and Short Time-of-Flight Tubes and an Evaluation of Its Performance for Use in Trace Analysis of Allergenic Substances

An analyte molecule was ionized using a femtosecond laser as the ionization source and was measured by a twin-type time-of-flight mass spectrometer with long (42 cm) and short (6.4 cm) flight tubes. The signal was measured using an analog signal digitizer and a time-correlated single ion counting system, and performance was evaluated by comparing data obtained from both instruments. The short mass spectrometer had a mass resolution of 450 and was used in the trace analysis of allergenic substances in a fragrance.

Development of a suitcase time-of-flight mass spectrometer for in situ fault diagnosis of SF6 -insulated switchgear by detection of decomposition products

RATIONALE

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 ) gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) is an essential piece of electrical equipment in a substation, and the concentration of the SF6 decomposition products are directly relevant to the security and reliability of the substation. The detection of SF6 decomposition products can be used to diagnosis the condition of the GIS.

METHODS

The decomposition products of SO2 , SO2 F2 , and SOF2 were selected as indicators for the diagnosis. A suitcase time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) was designed to perform online GIS failure analysis. An RF VUV lamp was used as the photoelectron ion source; the sampling inlet, ion einzel lens, and vacuum system were well designed to improve the performance.

RESULTS

The limit of detection (LOD) of SO2 and SO2 F2 within 200 s was 1 ppm, and the sensitivity was estimated to be at least 10-fold more sensitive than the previous design. The high linearity of SO2 , SO2 F2 in the range of 5-100 ppm has excellent linear correlation coefficient R(2) at 0.9951 and 0.9889, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The suitcase TOFMS using orthogonal acceleration and reflecting mass analyzer was developed. It has the size of 663 × 496 × 338 mm and a weight of 34 kg including the battery and consumes only 70 W. The suitcase TOFMS was applied to analyze real decomposition products of SF6 inside a GIS and succeeded in finding out the hidden dangers. The suitcase TOFMS has wide application prospects for establishing an early-warning for the failure of the GIS. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A membrane introduction mass spectrometer utilizing ion-molecule reactions for the on-line speciation and quantitation of volatile organic molecules

RATIONALE

The ability of membrane introduction mass spectrometry to quantitatively resolve low molecular weight volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) using electron ionization (EI) can be compromised by isobaric interferences. This work focuses on reducing isobaric interferences with ion-molecule reactions in a portable quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer for the analysis of VOCs.

METHODS

EI was used to produce reagent ions from precursors (chloroform, methyl iodide, trichloroethylene or chlorobenzene) that were continually infused into the helium acceptor phase upstream of the membrane introduction mass spectrometry (MIMS) sampling interface. The reagent ions were selectively stored in the ion trap, and then allowed to react with target VOC analytes in air samples via ion-molecule reactions within the trap storage volume. A variety of reaction times were examined (50-5000 ms), and the resulting product ions were analyzed in positive ion mode.

RESULTS

The detection limits achieved were comparable with those obtained using EI (low ppbv), and in some cases better than for EI coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). For the VOCs studied, isobaric interferences were greatly reduced or eliminated using chloroform as a reagent gas. The predominant ionization mechanism was via adduct formation, although charge transfer and hydride abstractions were also observed. An internal standard was shown to be effective at correcting for signal changes due to consumption of reagent ions when complex mixtures were sampled.

CONCLUSIONS

Ion-molecule reactions were exploited to eliminate isobaric interferences that are often encountered in direct, real-time analysis strategies for atmospheric VOC mixtures. The use of a continuously infused internal standard will improve quantitative results in field applications where analyte concentration and sample complexity may be wide ranging.

Development of a Portable Single Photon Ionization-Photoelectron Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer

A vacuum ultraviolet lamp based single photon ionization- (SPI-) photoelectron ionization (PEI) portable reflecting time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS) was designed for online monitoring gas samples. It has a dual mode ionization source: SPI for analyte with ionization energy (IE) below 10.6 eV and PEI for IE higher than 10.6 eV. Two kinds of sampling inlets, a capillary inlet and a membrane inlet, are utilized for high concentration and trace volatile organic compounds, respectively. A mass resolution of 1100 at m/z 64 has been obtained with a total size of 40 × 31 × 29 cm, the weight is 27 kg, and the power consumption is only 70 W. A mixture of benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX), SO₂, and discharging products of SF₆ were used to test its performance, and the result showed that the limit of quantitation for BTX is as low as 5 ppbv (S/N = 10 : 1) with linear dynamic ranges greater than four orders of magnitude. The portable TOFMS was also evaluated by analyzing volatile organic compounds from wine and decomposition products of SF₆ inside of a gas-insulated switchgear.

Ultrasonic nebulization extraction/low pressure photoionization mass spectrometry for direct analysis of chemicals in matrices

A novel ultrasonic nebulization extraction/low-pressure photoionization (UNE-LPPI) system has been designed and employed for the rapid mass spectrometric analysis of chemicals in matrices. An ultrasonic nebulizer was used to extract the chemicals in solid sample and nebulize the solvent in the nebulization cell. Aerosols formed by ultrasonic were evaporated by passing through a transferring tube, and desolvated chemicals were ionized by the emitted light (10.6 eV) from a Krypton discharge lamp at low pressure (∼68 Pa). First, a series of semi/non-volatile compounds with different polarities, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), amino acids, dipeptides, drugs, nucleic acids, alkaloids, and steroids were used to test the system. Then, the quantification capability of UNE-LPPI was checked with: 1) pure chemicals, such as 9,10-phenanthrenequinone and 1,4-naphthoquinone dissolved in solvent; 2) soil powder spiked with different amounts of phenanthrene and pyrene. For pure chemicals, the correlation coefficient (R(2)) for the standard curve of 9,10-phenanthrenequinone in the range of 3 ng-20 μg mL(-1) was 0.9922, and the measured limits of detection (LOD) was 1 ng ml(-1). In the case of soil powder, linear relationships for phenanthrene and pyrene from 10 to 400 ng mg(-1) were obtained with correlation coefficients of 0.9889 and 0.9893, respectively. At last, the feasibility of UNE-LPPI for the detection of chemicals in real matrices such as tablets and biological tissues (tea, Citrus aurantium peel and sage (Salvia officinalis) leaf) were successfully demonstrated.

Determination of absolute photoionization cross-sections of aromatics and aromatic derivatives

The absolute photoionization cross-sections of aromatics and aromatic derivatives including toluene, ethylbenzene, n-propylbenzene, o-xylene, m-xylene, p-xylene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, styrene, phenylacetylene, indene, indane, 1-methylnaphthalene, benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde were measured at the photon energy range from ionization thresholds to 11.7 eV. The experiments were performed by tunable synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization mass spectrometry. Benzene was chosen as a calibration standard, since its photoionization cross-section is well known. Binary liquid mixtures of the investigated molecules and benzene were used in the measurements. Photo-induced fragments from the molecules were also observed, and their photoionization cross-sections are also presented.