Mass-spectrometric analysis of solutions using an atmospheric pressure ion source

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Abstract
The use of an atmospheric pressure d.c. plasma as an ion source has been explored for the direct analysis of solutions introduced into it from a nebuliser. Ions are extracted from the plasma into a vacuum system and are focused into a quadrupole mass analyser. A high yield of singly charged ions with a small energy spread is obtained and clear spectra of the constituents of the solution are observed.The method is described and the results observed on simple solutions are given. The sensitivity of the method for a number of elements is indicated and appears to be comparable with other trace-analysis methods.