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A mass spectrometric study of hydride generated arsenic species identified by direct analysis in real time (DART) following cryotrapping

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry volume 413, pages 3443–3453 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Hydride generation (HG) coupled to cryotrapping was employed to introduce, separately and with high selectivity, four gaseous arsanes into a direct analysis in real time source for high-resolution mass spectrometry (DART-HR-MS). The arsanes, i.e., arsane (AsH3), methylarsane (CH3AsH2), dimethylarsane ((CH3)2AsH), and trimethylarsane ((CH3)3As), were formed under HG conditions that were close to those typically used for analytical purposes. Arsenic containing ion species formed during ambient ionization in the DART were examined both in the positive and negative ion modes. It was clearly demonstrated that numerous arsenic ion species originated in the DART source that did not accurately reflect their origin. Pronounced oxidation, hydride abstraction, methyl group(s) loss, and formation of oligomer ions complicate the identification of the original species in both modes of detection, leading to potential misinterpretation. Suitability of the use of the DART source for identification of arsenic species in multiphase reaction systems comprising HG is discussed.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Garnet McRae for technical assistance during DART-HR-MS measurements and Prof. Jiří Dědina for valuable comments on the manuscript.

Funding

Financial support by the CAS (M200311202), which permitted the scientific visit of S.M., J.K., and T.M. to NRC in Ottawa, and Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the CAS (institutional research plan RVO:68081715) is highly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Analytical Chemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Veveří 97, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Tomáš Matoušek, Jan Kratzer & Stanislav Musil

  2. Metrology, National Research Council of Canada, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada

    Ralph E. Sturgeon & Zoltán Mester

Authors
  1. Tomáš Matoušek
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  2. Jan Kratzer
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Correspondence to Stanislav Musil.

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Matoušek, T., Kratzer, J., Sturgeon, R.E. et al. A mass spectrometric study of hydride generated arsenic species identified by direct analysis in real time (DART) following cryotrapping. Anal Bioanal Chem 413, 3443–3453 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03289-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03289-5

Keywords

  • Arsenic
  • Hydride generation
  • Cryotrapping
  • Direct analysis in real time
  • Ambient ionization
  • Mass spectrometry