Use of an ambient ionization flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow source for elemental analysis through hydride generation

An ambient mass spectrometry ionization source based on an atmospheric-pressure flowing afterglow has been coupled to a Mattauch-Herzog mass spectrograph capable of simultaneous acquisition of a range of mass-to-charge values by means of a Faraday-strip array detector. The flowing afterglow was used as the ionization pathway for species produced by hydride generation. This ionization strategy circumvents problems, such as discharge instabilities or memory effects, induced by introducing the gaseous sample into the discharge. The generated spectra show both atomic and molecular peaks; calibration curves were calculated for both peak types with limits of detection for arsenic below 10 ppb. This study demonstrates the ability to use an ambient mass spectrometry source, commonly used for molecular analyses, for the detection of gas phase elemental species with the possibilty of performing speciation by coupling with a separation technique.