Glow discharge mass spectrometry applications

There is a branch of MS specially designed for dealing with the analysis of inorganic materials.[21,22] Different specific ionization techniques, such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS),[23] glow discharge mass spectrometry (GD-MS)[24] and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS),[25] are available and they are widely used in cultural heritage applications. Their description is beyond the scope of this chapter. 

In the last decade or two, the advent of new instrumentation directed at elemental analysis has provided fertile new ground for expanded use of isotope dilution. Glow discharge mass spectrometry is in many ways the modem replacement for spark source and has similar impediments to ready application of isotope dilution. A recent report of Barshick et al. describes assaying lead in oil residues using the technique [21]. The obstacles spark source and glow discharge mass spectrometry both present to ready use of isotope dilution make it unlikely that widespread application of the technique will occur in conjunction with them. 

This chapter deals exclusively with the methods that have been developed for the direct solids analysis of nonconductive samples by glow discharge mass spectrometry. The basic approaches to operation and sample preparation for the three primary methodologies of compaction, secondary cathode, and radio frequency powering are described. Examples of source performance and practical applications of each are taken from the analytical literature. Whereas this chapter de-... 

Jakubowski N. and Stuewer D. (1992) Application of glow discharge mass spectrometry with low mass resolution for in-depth analysis of technical layers, J Anal At Spectrom 7 951-958. 

Chemical element B has two stable isotopes, B and "B, nuclei of which differ by one neutron. In the universe, "B/ B natural abundance ratio is estimated as 4.05 0.10 (Viola 1991). This value coincides with the natural isotopic composition of boron, 19.85% B+80.15% "B, determined in floating-zone-melted P-rhombohedral boron by the glow-discharge mass-spectrometry laboratory method (Nogi et al. 2000). Since boron and its compounds have found a variety of applications, the elemental and isotopic analyses of boron become important steps of an investigation with special challenges (Balaram 2011). 

Marcus, R. (2000) Analysis of nonconductive sample types by glow discharge mass spectrometry. In Inorganic Mass Spectrometry Fundamentals and Applications, edited by Barshick, C.M., Duckworth, D.C., Smith, D.H. New York Marcel Dekker, pp. 261-289. 

Hanson, D. R., Koppes, M., Stoffers, A. et al. (2009) Proton transfer mass spectrometry at 11 hPa with a circular glow discharge sensitivities and applications. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 282,28. 

The ion source is an essential component of all mass spectrometers where the ionization of a gaseous, liquid or solid sample takes place. In inorganic mass spectrometry, several ion sources, based on different evaporation and ionization processes, such as spark ion source, glow discharge ion source, laser ion source (non-resonant and resonant), secondary ion source, sputtered neutral ion source and inductively coupled plasma ion source, have been employed for a multitude of quite different application fields (see Chapter 9). 

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