Abstract:

A double quadrupole arrangement to remove polyatomic ions by collisions with an added target gas has been evaluated. The ions Ar₂⁺, ArO⁺, and ArN⁺ were attenuated by factors of 50-400 to count rates of ≲100 counts s⁻¹. Fifty to seventy percent of the analyte ions were retained. Removal of polyatomic ions and retention of analyte ions were favored by low-energy collisions with Xe or CH₄ rather than typical target gases like N₂ or Ar. Products of ion-molecule reactions between background ions and target gas in the first quadrupole could be observed.

Keywords: Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry; Polyatomic ion interferences; Tandem quadrupoles; Collision-induced dissociation; Ion molecular reactions

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1366/0003702894204065

Affiliations: 1: Ames Laboratory-U.S. Departmént of Energy, Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011