mass spectrometry Flashcards
what is mass spectrometry?
a form of molecular chemical analysis. There are many different types of mass spectrometer. They all work on the same principle of:
- forming ions from a sample
- ions separated (according to mass charge ratio) m/Z
- ions detected
what can mass spectrometry be used for?
- provide structural information
- identify an unknown compound
- determine the relative abundance of each isotope of an element
what is the time of flight mass spectrometry?
it consists of the apparatus held under a vacuum that excludes air to prevent the ions from colliding with those in the air
what is step 1 of the practical for time of flight mass spectrometry?
step 1: the sample is dissolved in a volatile solvent.
The vaporised solvent is forced through a hollow needle which is connected to the +ve terminal of a high voltage supply. Producing tiny positively charged droplets (they have lost electrons). The solvent evaporates. As a result of this the droplets reduce in size and are reduced to a single positively charged ion.
-vaporisation-
what is step 2 of the practical for time of flight mass spectrometry?
step 2: the positive ions are attracted towards an electric plate the plate is negatively charged and causes the ions to accelerate. The ions accelerate towards the plate so that all ions have the same KE. Thus larger and heavier ions travel at a lower speed .
-ionisation-
what is step 3 of the practical for time of flight mass spectrometry?
the ions pass through a hole in the negatively charged plate which then forms a beam.The beam of ions travel along a tube (this is the flight tube)
-acceleration-
what is step 4 of the practical for time of flight mass spectrometry?
when the ions arrive at the detector, their flight times are recorded.At the detector, positively charged ions will pick up an electron which causes a current to flow
-deflection-
what is step 5 of the practical for time of flight mass spectrometry?
the data passes a signal to a computer which generates a mass spectrum
-detection-
what are isotopes?
atoms that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons
what is low resolution mass spectrometry? e.g. Cl
Cl=2 isotopes
Cl^35,Cl^35
both isotopes have different masses i.e
Cl^35: n=18, p=17
Cl^35: n=20, p=17
so the isotopes will have a different m/z ratio thus are done separately .
the process of mass spectrometry can be carried out to a high level of precision ( 5 decimal places) when it is calculated to 1 d.p. it can be called low resolution mass spectrometry
how is mass spectrum calculated ?
relative abundance / mass:charge
what is the mass:charge for Cl?
35,37 respectively for its isotopes.
what’s the RAM of Cl?
35.5
what is the RAM of element x when the mass spectrum shows : RA 78.7,M:C 24 RA 10.13,M:C25 RA 11.17 M:C 26?
and thus suggest an identity of element x
(24 x0.787) + (25x0.1013) + (26 x0.117) =24.4625 2d.p -> 24.46 Magnesium
what happens to the particles in a mass spectrometer following vaporisation, before they re detected . which of these steps separates the isotopes?
ionisation, acceleration and deflection. Deflection separates the isotopes based on their mass to charge ratio.