Abstract
Photoelectron resonance capture ionization (PERCI) is demonstrated as a sensitive ionization technique involving minimal fragmentation of organic molecules. PERCI has been used successfully to softly and efficiently ionize both strongly UV absorbing and non-absorbing molecules. Tunable low energy (<1 eV) electrons are generated by focusing a pulsed UV laser on an aluminum photocathode in the presence of gas phase analyte. Negative ions are formed through a resonance electron capture process. Mass analysis is done using a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer. PERCI is demonstrated for a number of gas phase compounds and simple mixtures, including sulfur hexafluoride, nitrobenzene, nitrophenol, 2-pentanone, hexanal, heptanal, and octanal. In all cases the molecular ion (or [M−H]−) was observed to be the dominant peak. The 1σ limit of detection was estimated to be on the order of 106 molecules in the ionization region.
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Published online January 15, 2004
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LaFranchi, B.W., Petrucci, G.A. Photoelectron resonance capture ionization (PERCI): A novel technique for the soft-ionization of organic compounds. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 15, 424–430 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasms.2003.11.015
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasms.2003.11.015