Mass Spectrometry (MS) • Technique for studying the masses of atoms or molecules or fragments of molecules • Provides information about … o o o o o
Elemental composition Molecular structure Composition of complex mixtures Structure & composition of solid surfaces Isotopic ratios of atoms • Discriminate between 79Br & 81Br
Mass Spectrometry Applications
Skoog, Table 20-5
Mass Spectrometry Beginnings • Aston (Cambridge) o
1919 – Discovered two isotopes of neon (20Ne & 22Ne)
• 1922 – Nobel Prize in Chemistry o
“for his discovery, by means of his mass spectrograph, of isotopes, in a large number of non-radioactive elements, and for his enunciation of the whole-number rule"
• Discovered 212 of 281 naturally occurring isotopes www.nobel.se
Francis William Aston
Obtaining a Mass Spectrum • Gaseous molecules desorbed from condensed phases are ionized • Ions are accelerated by an electric field • Ion separation by mass-to-charge ratio (m/z)
ethyl benzene
Skoog, Fig. 20-1
The Instrument • Sample ionization o o
Gas-phase Desorption
• Mass analyzer ~ monochromator o o o o
Quadrupole (Q) Time-of-flight (TOF) Double-focusing (B, E) Ion trap
• Ion transducer o o
Skoog, Fig. 11-1
Electron multiplier Faraday cup
Ion Transducers • Electron multiplier o
o o
Analogous to a photomultiplier tube (PMT) Rugged & reliable Current gain ~ 107
• Faraday cup o o
o
Inexpensive Simple mechanically & electrically Less sensitive than electron multiplier Skoog, Fig. 11-2(b), 11-3
Ion Sources Basic Type
Name and Acronym
Ionizing Agent
Gas phase
Electron impact (EI)
Energetic electrons
Chemical ionization (CI)
Reagent gaseous ions
Field ionization (FI)
High-potential electrode
Field desorption (FD)
High-potential electrode
Electrospray ionization (ESI)
High electrical field
Matrix-assisted desorption/ionization (MALDI)
Laser beam
Plasma desorption (PD)
Fission fragments from 252Cf
Fast atom bombardment (FAB)
Energetic atomic beam
Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)
Energetic beam of ions
Thermospray ionization (TS)
High temperature
Desorption
Skoog, Table 20-1
Electron Ionization (EI) • Electrons accelerated through potential of 70 V and interact with incoming molecules
M
+
e– 70 eV
→
M+• Molecular ion
• Interaction with 70-eV electron will likely remove electron with lowest ionization energy o
+
e– ~55 eV
Formaldehyde
n < <
Harris, 6th ed., Fig. 22-3
+
e– 0.1 eV
Electron Ionization (EI)
• Path of electrons & molecules are at right angles o
Collide to produce mostly singly-charged positive ions
• Inefficient process Skoog, Fig. 20-3
Chemical Ionization (CI) • Ionization source is filled with a reagent gas o
CH4, C4H10, NH3, H2, CH3OH, NO
• Energetic electrons (100 – 200 eV) convert CH4 to a variety of reactive products: CH 4 e CH 42 e CH CH CH 4 4 5 CH 3 CH CH H 4 3 CH CH C H 3 4 2 5 H 2
CH M CH MH 5 4 5
C 2 H M C 2 H 4 MH
EI vs. CI Mass Spectra BASE PEAK
• Hard source o
• Soft source
More fragmentation
o
• Structural information o
Functional groups
Less fragmentation
• Molecular weight information
Harris, Fig. 21-14
EI vs. CI Mass Spectra • 1-Decanol mass spectra • Hard source o o
More fragments Structural info
• Soft source o o
Skoog, Fig. 20-2
Less fragments MW info
Electrospray Ionization (ESI) • Sample typically in form of solution (organic or aqueous) • Excess solvent must be removed before entering MS o
Large increase in pressure from solvent vaporization
• Differential solvent removal o o o
o
Solution passed through stainless steel capillary tube Apply high electric potential (3 – 5 kV) Solvent evaporates rapidly from droplet surface and droplets get smaller and smaller Solvent molecules diffuse away
Electrospray Ionization (ESI)
Harris, 6th ed., Fig. 22-16 (b); (Skoog, Fig. 20-8)
Laser Desorption Ionization (LDI) • Molecular system exposed to laser beam has its internal energy greatly increased o o o o
Melting Vaporization Ionization Decomposition
• Process of beaming laser light onto small area of sample specimen to desorb ions Herbert, C. G.; Johnstone, R. A. W.; Mass Spectrometry Basics; 2003, p. 8
Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization (MALDI) • Aqueous/alcohol solution of sample is mixed with radiation-absorbing matrix material o
Matrices (Skoog, Table 20-4)
• Solution evaporated on metallic probe surface • Solid mixture is exposed to pulsed laser beam o
Analyte is sublimed as ions
• Useful for obtaining accurate molecular weights of biopolymers Source: http://www.srsmaldi.com
to TOF-MS
ESI & LDI Pioneers • Fenn (Virginia Commonwealth) & Tanaka (Shimadzu) • 2002 – Nobel Prize in Chemistry o
o
"for the development of methods for identification and structure analyses of biological macromolecules" "for their development of soft desorption ionization methods for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules"
Source: http://www.nobel.se
John B. Fenn
Koichi Tanaka
Fast Atom Bombardment (FAB) • Focus a high primary current beam of neutral atoms or molecules on sample • Sample dissolved in non-volatile liquid matrix • Inert gas atoms are ionized to give positive ions • As ions collide with other inert gas atoms (He, Ar, Xe), charge exchange occurs o
Fast-moving ions become fastmoving atoms
Source: http://www-methods.ch.cam.ac.uk/meth/ms/theory/fab.gif
Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) • Focus a high primary current beam of ions on sample • Sample dissolved in nonvolatile liquid matrix • Dynamic SIMS o o
Current beam high enough to damage surface Elemental and isotopic information obtained
• Static SIMS o o
Dedicated to analysis of top monolayer of surface Fresh layer of new ions continuously brought to surface
Source: http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~walker/sims_exp.gif; http://www.ulb.ac.be/sciences/cpmct/images/logosims.gif
Magnetic Sector (B) • Ions deflected according to their mass • Spectrum obtained by changing the field strength 2 2
m Br z 2V
m/z = mass-to-charge ratio B = magnetic field strength r = radii of curvature (trajectory) V = accelerating voltage Harris, 6th ed., Fig. 22-2; (Skoog, Fig. 20-12)
Electrostatic Sector (E) • Ions deflected according to their kinetic energy o
KE = ½mv2
Harris, 6th ed., Fig. 22-12
Double-Focusing • Combination of magnetic & electrostatic sectors o
Improved resolving power • Resolution of 105
o o
Compatible with chromatographic columns Compact
• Configurations o
Mattauch-Herzog • Skoog, Fig. 11-9
o
Nier-Johnson • Skoog, Fig. 20-13
Mattauch-Herzog
Source: http://www.oup.com/images/booksites/higson/higson_fig9.8.jpg
Double-Focusing Ion Optics Forward Geometry EB Configuration (Nier-Johnson)
Reverse Geometry BE Configuration Herbert, C. G.; Johnstone, R. A. W.; Mass Spectrometry Basics; 2003, p. 178-179
Time-of-Flight (TOF)
Harris, 6th ed., Fig. 22-14; (Skoog, Fig. 11-8)
Quadrupole (Q)
Harris, Fig. 21-13; (Skoog, Fig. 11-4)
Ion-Trap
Harris, 6th ed., Fig. 22-15; (Skoog, Fig. 20-15)
Hyphenated MS Methods • Mass spectrometer = detector for other analytical techniques o
Mass spectra collected as compounds exit
• Chromatography/MS o o
Gas Chromatography/MS (GC-MS) Liquid Chromatography/MS (LC-MS)
• Capillary Electrophoresis/MS (CE-MS)
Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry • MS requires high vacuum o
Avoid molecular collisions during ion separation
• Chromatography is high-pressure technique o
Must remove huge excess matter between the chromatograph and the spectrometer
• For GC, narrow capillary column connected directly to inlet of the mass spectrometer • For LC, liquid from column creates huge volume of gas when vaporized o o
Pneumatically assisted electrospray Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI)
APCI • Uses heat and coaxial flow of N2 to convert eluate into a fine aerosol mist • Creates new ions from gas-phase reactions between ions & molecules • High voltage is applied to metal needle in the path of the aerosol
Harris, 6th ed., Fig. 22-18
Liquid Chromatography/MS (LC-MS)
Harris, 6th ed., Fig. 22-16 (a)
Gas Chromatography/MS (GC-MS) • Must remove most of the carrier gas from the analyte • Quadrupole or ion trap mass analyzers used
Skoog, Fig. 27-13, 27-14
Capillary Electrophoresis/MS (CE-MS) • Capillary effluent is passed into an electrospray ionization device • Products enter quadrupole mass analyzer • Detection limits: tens of femtomoles (10–14 M)
Skoog, Fig. 30-7
Chromatography/MS Spectra
GC CE
Herbert, C. G.; Johnstone, R. A. W.; Mass Spectrometry Basics; 2003, p. 264
Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS/MS) First MS • Isolates molecular ions • Soft ionization source o
Molecular ions or protonated molecular ions • “Parent” ions
• Analogous to chromatographic column o
Provides pure ionic species for second spectrometer
Second MS • Fragments ions o
Collisions between ions & He atoms cause further fragmentation • “Daughter” ions
• Provides series of mass spectra for each molecular ion produced
QQQ Tandem Instrument
• Q1 & Q3 are regular quadrupole filters • Q2 is a collision focusing chamber o o
Helium pumped into chamber & collides with parent ions Operates in rf-mode only • Focuses scattered ions but does not act as a mass filter Skoog, Fig. 20-24
The Mass Spectrum • Molecular ion (M+•) = unknown molecular mass • M+• breaks apart efficiently with EI o
Fragments provides clues about structure
• CI mass spectrum has strong MH+ peak o
Molecular mass information
• Nitrogen Rule o
Odd nominal mass for M+• • Odd # N atoms
o
Even nominal mass for M+• • Even # N atoms Harris, Fig. 21-14
Molecular Ion & Isotope Patterns • M+●peak is base peak for aromatic compounds o
EI spectra
• Next higher mass peak provides elemental composition info o
M + 1 peak
• Carbon o o
12C
98.92 % 1.08 % 13C
Intensity of M + 1 relative to M+● for CnHm: Intensity = n × 1.08 % + m × 0.012 %
• Hydrogen o
0.012 % 2H
13C
2H
Benzene: Intensity = 6 × 1.08 % + 6 × 0.012 % = 6.55 % Biphenyl: Intensity = 12 × 1.08 % + 10 × 0.012 % = 13.1 % Harris, Fig. 21-18
Molecular Ion & Isotope Patterns
Harris, Table 21-1
Rings and Double Bonds • Rings + double bonds (R + DB) formula o
Used if composition of a molecular ion is known
h n R DB c 1 2 2 c = # of Group 14 atoms (e.g., C, Si) [make 4 bonds] h = # of (H + halogen) atoms [make 1 bond] n = # of Group 15 atoms (e.g., N, P) [make 3 bonds]
22 11 11 R DB 14 1 1 5 rings & double bonds 2
2
Harris, 6th ed., p. 526 figure
Identifying the Molecular Ion (M+●) Peak • Highest m/z value of any “significant” peaks o
~ 5 – 20% of base peak intensity
• Isotopic peak intensity (M+1, M+2, etc.) must be consistent with proposed chemical composition • Heaviest fragment ion must correspond to a probable mass loss o o
Loss in 3 – 14 or 21 – 25 Da range rare Common mass losses 15 Da (●CH3)
29 Da (●C2H5)
17 Da (●OH or NH3)
31 Da (●OCH3)
18 Da (H2O)
43 Da (●C3H7 or CH3CO●)
Fragmentation Patterns
Harris, Fig. 21-26, 21-17
Interpreting Fragmentation Patterns
• Highest peak of “significant” intensity = m/z 100 • Next highest peak at m/z 85 (loss of ●CH3) • M+●has an even mass o
Nitrogen rule cannot be an odd number of N atoms in molecule Harris, 6th ed., Fig. 22-10
Interpreting Fragmentation Patterns
observed (M 1)/M intensity 6% Number of C atoms 6 contribution per carbon atom 1.08 %
Intensity = 6 × 1.08 % + 12 × 0.0012 % + 1 × 0.038 % = 6.7 % of M+● 13C
2H
17O
R + DB = c – h/2 + n/2 + 1 = 6 – 12/2 + 0 + 1 = 1 ring or double bond Harris, 6th ed., Fig. 22-10
Fragmentation of 2-Hexanone
Harris, 6th ed., Fig. 22-11