质子转移反应质谱的建立与性能研究

报道了自行研制的质子转移反应质谱的基本结构和性能。利用水蒸气辉光放电产生了反应离子H3O ,以合成空气为反应气体,测量了H3O 与合成空气中的水反应产生的团簇离子H3O (H2O)n的质谱。实验发现,当漂移管电场与分子密度比值为144Td时,增加的离子能量可以阻止团簇离子H3O (H2O)n的形成,质谱观察到的离子主要是H3O ,其纯度可达99%以上,这时H3O 与有机物分子如甲苯的质子转移反应的产物离子也呈单一形式,团簇离子得到很好地抑制。根据离子强度和离子反应时间等参数,获得了PTR-MS目前的检出限为10-8(V/V)。利用PTR-MS对标准浓度甲苯及其稀释气体进行检测,表明PTR-MS在线定量检测准确性良好,线性动态范围跨越3个数量级,能够应用于大气中痕量挥发性有机物的实时在线测量。     

大气挥发性有机物实时在线监测的双极性质子转移反应质谱仪研制

大气中挥发性有机物(VOCs)能参与光化学反应,导致臭氧和气溶胶等二次污染物的产生,实时精准地监测VOCs对于大气污染成因研究具有重要意义。在质子转移反应质谱(PTR-MS)研究基础上,本工作研制一套用于大气VOCs实时在线监测的双极性质子转移反应质谱仪(Dipolar proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer,DP-PTR-MS)。相比单一反应离子H_3O~+的常规PTR-MS,DP-PTR-MS中有正负3种反应离子(H_3O~+、OH~-、(CH_3)_2COH~+),可根据实际检测需要选择切换,提高定性能力,并有效扩展检测范围。其中,H_3O~+反应离子用于检测质子亲和势大于H_2O的VOCs;OH~-反应离子可与H_3O~+反应离子配合识别VOCs,还可用于检测CO_2等无机物;(CH_3)_2COH~+反应离子可在排除干扰的情况下准确检测NH_3。利用6种标准气体测定DP-PTR-MS检出限和灵敏度,结果表明,DP-PTR-MS对甲苯的检出限为7×10~(-12)(V/V),对氨气的灵敏度为126.0 cps/10~(-9)(V/V)。利用DP-PTR-MS对合肥市区大气VOCs开展连续78h实时在线监测验证实验,结果表明,DP-PTR-MS可对大气中10~(-12)(V/V)量级VOCs进行长期实时在线监测,可作为大气污染成因研究和痕量VOCs排放监测的重要工具。     

HCO+和HOC+与C2H2气相质子转移反应的理论研究

在 HF,B3LYP和 QCISD(T)水平上研究了 HCO+和 HOC+与 C2 H2 的气相质子转移反应 .结果表明 :高级电子相关效应对研究质子转移过程极为重要 ;HCO+和 HOC+通过质子垂直进攻 C2 H2 的 π-键分别生成中间体 OC· HC2 H+2 和 CO· HC2 H+2 ,最终生成主要产物为π-质子化的乙炔 HC(H) CH+;对于质子转移反应 HOC+比 HCO+更为活泼 .计算结果与实验结果符合得较好 ,这将有助于理解星际化学以及燃烧化学中的质子转移过程     

氢键对水辅助甲酸分子质子转移反应影响的理论研究

采用密度泛函B3LYP方法和6-31G(d,p)基组,对甲酸与质子性溶剂水分子(用W表示)形成的HCOOH-(H_2O)_n(n=1～3)复合物在气相时发生的基态多质子转移反应过程进行了理论研究.7个甲酸复合物HCOOH-W,HCOOH-W_2,HCOOH-W-aW,HCOOH-W-dW,HCOOH-W_3,HCOOH-W_2-aW和HCOOH-W_2-dW中发生的多质子转移反应都是以异步协同质子迁移方式进行.甲酸复合物HCOOH-(H_2O)_n(n=1～3)中水分子的数量和氢键链连接方式对基态多质子转移反应有显著影响.     

TATP的质子转移反应的质谱研究

利用密度泛函理论(DFT), 在B3LYP/cc-pVDZ水平上, 对三过氧化三丙酮(Triacetone triperoxide, TATP)及其质子化离子[TATP+H]+进行了构型优化和质子亲和势(Proton Affinity, PA)计算, 研究结果表明, PA(TATP)=866.73 kJ/mol大于PA(H2O)=691.0 kJ/mol, TATP与H3O+可发生质子转移反应. 在自行研制的质子转移反应质谱(Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry, PTR-MS) 装置上, 研究了TATP与H3O+反应生成的特征离子. 当漂移管中E/N=1.4×10-15 V·cm2时, 在荷质比m/z=91, 75, 74, 59, 43等处观察到了产物离子. 降低E/N至0.5×10-15 V·cm2后, 在m/z=223处观察到了质子化产物离子([TATP+H]+), 验证了计算结果; 结合[TATP+H]+的构型, 分析了TATP质子转移反应产物离子可能的归属及其形成过程. 结合PTR-MS漂移管内E/N的改变引起m/z=223, 91, 43等离子的变化特征, 可实现TATP的准确识别和快速定量检测, 检测下限达到5.0×10-10 mol/L(±50%).     

C4H5N-(H2O)n氢键团簇的多光子电离与从头计算研究

在355、532nm激光波长下用TOF质谱研究了C4H5N-(H2O)n氢键团簇体系的多光子电离。二波长下均得到一系列C4H5N-(H2O)n+及质子化产物C4H5N-(H2O)nH+。355nm下可能存在双光子共振电离过程,使得该波长下吡咯母体及团簇离子信号较532nm有明显增强。从头计算结果表明质子化产物的质子更可能连接于吡咯环的α-C原子,而不是N原子上,即光电离过程诱发了一个簇内的质子转移反应。在532nm下质子化产物的生成主要来自于一个发生于团簇内部的Penning电离或电荷转移过程。团簇的形成对吡咯光解产物的稳定化作用使得团簇系列C4H4N-(H2O)n+出现反常强度变化。     

B型DNA中鸟嘌呤-胞嘧啶碱基对内双质子转移反应

采用ONIOM(M06-2X/6-31G^*:PM3)方法研究了单个鸟嘌呤-胞嘧啶(GC)碱基对和含GC碱基对的四种排序的DNA三聚体(dATGCAT, dGCGCGC, dTAGCTA, dCGGCCG)的双质子转移反应. 通过分析其双质子转移方式、质子转移过程中各结构的能量和氢键变化, 总结出环境因素对GC碱基对双质子转移机理的影响. 气相中, dCGGCCG三聚体中发生分步双质子转移, 其它四种模型中均发生协同双质子转移. 分析发现质子转移方式受上下相邻碱基对的静电相互作用和质子接受位的质子亲和势影响, dATGCAT和dGCGCGC排序有助于质子H4a转移, 而dTAGCTA和dCGGCCG排序有助于质子H1转移, 胞嘧啶的N3位较高的质子亲和势有助于质子H1转移. 水溶剂中, 上下相邻碱基对的静电相互作用被减弱, 水溶剂稳定了分步转移过程中的单质子转移产物, 因此分步转移机理占据优势, 五种模型中均出现分步双质子转移, 在此过程中能量变化趋势相似. 溶剂效应有利于单质子转移, 却增加了双质子转移反应的反应能.     

氢键链质子接受能力对质子转移反应影响的理论研究

采用密度泛函B3LYP方法,6-311+g(d,p)基组,对甲酸与质子性溶剂分子形成的HCOOH-S_1-S_2(S_1和S_2分别为H_2O和NHF2)复合物在气相时发生的基态三质子转移反应过程进行了理论研究.4个甲酸复合物HCOOH-H_2O-H_2O,HCOOH-NHF2-NHF2,HCOOH-H_2O-NHF2及HCOOH-NHF2-H_2O中发生的三质子转移反应都是以异步协同质子迁移方式进行的.甲酸复合物中的氢键链组成和连接方式对基态三质子转移反应能垒有显著影响.HCOOH-S_1-S_2复合物中氢键链的质子接受能力可以表示为a×β1+b×β2(a+b=1).当a=0.45,b=0.55时,HCOOH-S_1-S_2中氢键链的质子接受能力和HCOOH-S_1-S_2复合物中的质子转移反应能垒成线性关系.氢键链的质子接收能力越强,反应能垒越低.     

Cu2+对腺嘧啶-胸腺嘧啶碱基对阴离子质子转移的影响

采用B3LYP/DZP++方法研究了腺嘌呤-胸腺嘧啶(A-T)碱基对阴离子(AT)-的单质子转移机理以及金属离子Cu2+对(AT)-碱基对质子转移的影响.(AT)-碱基对的单质子转移路径是由胸腺嘧啶N25位上的质子H26沿分子间的氢键N25-H26…N10转移到腺嘌呤的N10位.金属Cu2+可通过络合作用分别吸附在(AT)-碱基对O24、O28、N4、N13上,从而影响(AT)-碱基对中质子转移过程.Cu2+络合作用在胸腺嘧啶(T)的O24、O28上时,发生了从胸腺嘧啶到腺嘌呤方向上的单质子转移反应;而作用在腺嘌呤(A)的N4、N13上时,得到了双质子转移的稳定产物.     

大气压化学萃取电离质谱法用于吡啶类化合物的快速检测

利用大气压化学萃取电离源质谱技术(EAPCI-MS)对吡啶类化合物的电离行为特征进行研究。实验显示,EAPCI-MS技术在常温常压条件下,无需样品预处理和任何辅助化学试剂,在质谱图中能同时检测到吡啶类化合物的质子化分子离子峰[M+H]+和分子离子峰M+·,并具有类似的二级碎裂机理。研究结果表明,EAPCI-MS技术具有不同于传统电离源质谱的裂解方式,同时兼具传统电喷雾电离(ESI)和大气压化学电离(APCI)的特征电离方式和行为,极大地提高了化学检测的选择性,增强了质谱分析的定性能力。该研究为吡啶类化合物的检测和鉴定提供了一种新方法,对吡啶类化合物的快速检测具有重要的应用价值和意义。     

多反应离子的质子转移反应质谱

在无放射性辉光放电离子源内, 采用不同试剂气体进行放电, 为质子转移反应质谱(PTR-MS)新增了强度在10⁵ cps量级的3种反应离子NH₄⁺, NO⁺和O₂⁺, 纯度大于95%; 测试了这3种反应离子的离子-分子反应特征. 采用H₃O⁺, NH₄⁺, NO⁺和O₂⁺等4种反应离子对同分异构体丙醛/丙酮进行检测发现, H₃O⁺和NH₄⁺均不能区分的丙醛/丙酮可采用NO⁺或O₂⁺进行区分. 结果表明, 增加反应离子不仅使PTR-MS的可检测有机物范围不再局限于质子亲和势(PA)大于H₂O的有机物, 还提高了PTR-MS区分同分异构体的能力.     

Differentiation of isomeric compounds by two-stage proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry

We investigated a two-stage ion source for proton transfer reaction (PTR) ionization to achieve more selective mass spectrometric (MS) detection of selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than that achieved with commonly used PTR-MS instruments, which are based on single-step PTR ionization with H3O+. The two-stage PTR ion source generated reagent ions other than H3O+ by an initial PTR between H3O+ and a selected VOC, and then a second PTR ionization occurred only for VOCs with proton affinities larger than the affinity of the reagent VOC. Acetone and acetonitrile were useful as reagent VOCs because they provided dominant peaks as a protonated form. Using two-stage PTR-MS, we differentiated isomeric VOCs (for example, ethyl acetate and 1,4-dioxane) by means of differences in their proton affinities; protonated acetone formed the [M + H]+ ion from ethyl acetate but not from 1,4-dioxane. The PTR-MS-derived concentrations agreed quantitatively with those independently determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) at parts per million by volume (ppmv) levels. In addition, interfering fragment ions formed from alkyl benzenes at m/z 79 (C6H7+) could be distinguished from the m/z 79 ion arising from protonation of benzene, and therefore this method would prevent overestimation of benzene concentrations in air samples in which both benzene and alkyl benzenes are present. This two-stage PTR ionization may be useful for distinguishing various isomeric species, including aldehydes and ketones, if appropriate reagent ions are selected.     

Differentiation of isobaric compounds using chemical ionization reaction mass spectrometry

The technique of proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) couples a proton transfer reagent, usually H3O+, with a drift tube and mass spectrometer to determine concentrations of volatile organic compounds. Here we describe a first attempt to use chemical ionization (CI) reagents other than proton transfer species inside a PTR-MS instrument. The ability to switch to other types of CI reagents provides an extra dimension to the technique. This capability is demonstrated by focusing on the ability to distinguish several isobaric aldehydes and ketones, including the atmospherically important molecules methacrolein and methyl vinyl ketone. Two CI reagents were selected, H3O+ and NO+, both being cleanly generated in a low intensity radioactive source prior to injection into the drift tube. By recording spectra with both of these reagents, the contributions from different isobaric molecules can be separated by virtue of their unique spectrometric 'fingerprints'. The work demonstrates that this form of instrumentation is not restricted to proton transfer reagents and is the basis of a more general technique, chemical ionization reaction mass spectrometry (CIRMS).     

Development of Dipolar Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometer for Real-time Monitoring of Volatile Organic Compounds in Ambient Air

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ambient air can participate in photochemical reactions, which lead to the generation of secondary pollutants such as ozone and aerosol. So real-time and accurate monitoring of atmospheric VOCs plays an important role in the study of the causes of air pollution. On the basis of proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) research, a novel dipolar proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (DP-PTR-MS) for real-time and on-line monitoring of atmospheric VOCs was developed. Compared with conventional PTR-MS with one kind of reagent ion H₃O⁺, DP-PTR-MS had three kinds of reagent ions H₃O⁺, OH^?, (CH₃)₂COH⁺, which could be switched according to the actual detection need. So DP-PTR-MS can improve the qualitative ability and expand the detection range effectively. The reagent ion H₃O⁺ can be used for detecting VOCs whose proton affinities are greater than that of H₂O. The reagent ion OH^? can be used to identify VOCs cooperating with the reagent ion H₃O⁺, and can also be used for detecting some inorganic substances such as CO₂. The reagent ion (CH₃)₂COH⁺ can be used for accurately detecting NH₃ under interference elimination circumstances. The limit of detection (LOD) and sensitivity of DP-PTR-MS were measured by using six kinds of standard gases. The results showed that the LOD for detecting toluene was 7 × 10^?12 (V/V) and the sensitivity for detecting ammonia reached 126 cps/10^?9 (V/V). The ambient air in Hefei city was on-line and real-time monitored for continuous 78 h with DP-PTR-MS. The results showed that the newly developed DP-PTR-MS could be used for long-term and real-time monitoring atmospheric VOCs at the concentration of 10^?12 (V/V) level. DP-PTR-MS is an important tool to the study of the causes of atmospheric pollution and the monitoring of trace VOCs emissions.     

Application of a Self-developed Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometer to On-line Monitoring Trace Volatile Organic Compounds in Ambient Air

Real-time and on-line monitoring volatile organic compounds(VOCs) are valuable for real-time evalua- ting air quality and monitoring the key source of pollution. A self-developed proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometer(PTR-MS) was constructed and applied to on-line monitoring trace VOCs in ambient air in Hefei, China. With the help of a self-developed catalytic converter, the background signal of the instrument was detected and the stability of the instrument was evaluated. The relative standard deviation of signal at m/z 21 was only 0.74% and the detection limit of PTR-MS was 97 part per trillion(97×10^-12, volume ratio). As a case of the air monitoring in Hefei, the ambient air at Dongpu reservoir spot was on-line monitored for 13 d with our self-developed PTR-MS. Meanwhile, a solid-phase micro-extraction(SPME) technique coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) was also used for the off-line detection of the air. The results show that our self-developed PTR-MS can be used for the on-line and long-term monitoring of VOCs in air at part per trillion level, and the change trend of VOCs concentration monitored with PTR-MS was consistent with that detected with the conventional SPME-GC-MS. This self-developed PTR-MS can fully satisfy the requirements of air quality monitoring and real-time monitoring of the key pollution sources.     

Detection of Ketones by a Novel Technology: Dipolar Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (DP-PTR-MS)

Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) has played an important role in the field of real-time monitoring of trace volatile organic compounds (VOCs) due to its advantages such as low limit of detection (LOD) and fast time response. Recently, a new technology of proton extraction reaction mass spectrometry (PER-MS) with negative ions OH^– as the reagent ions has also been presented, which can be applied to the detection of VOCs and even inorganic compounds. In this work, we combined the functions of PTR-MS and PER-MS in one instrument, thereby developing a novel technology called dipolar proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (DP-PTR-MS). The selection of PTR-MS mode and PER-MS mode was achieved in DP-PTR-MS using only water vapor in the ion source and switching the polarity. In this experiment, ketones (denoted by M) were selected as analytes. The ketone (molecular weight denoted by m) was ionized as protonated ketone [M + H]⁺ [mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) m + 1] in PTR-MS mode and deprotonated ketone [M – H]^– (m/z m – 1) in PER-MS mode. By comparing the m/z value of the product ions in the two modes, the molecular weight of the ketone can be positively identified as m. Results showed that whether it is a single ketone sample or a mixed sample of eight kinds of ketones, the molecular weights can be detected with DP-PTR-MS. The newly developed DP-PTR-MS not only maintains the original advantages of PTR-MS and PER-MS in sensitive and rapid detection of ketones, but also can estimate molecular weight of ketones.

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Graphical Abstract ?

     

An online ultra-high sensitivity Proton-transfer-reaction mass-spectrometer combined with switchable reagent ion capability (PTR + SRI − MS)

Proton-transfer-reaction mass-spectrometry (PTR-MS) developed in the 1990s is used today in a wide range of scientific and technical fields. PTR-MS allows for real-time, online determination of absolute concentrations of volatile (organic) compounds (VOCs) in air with high sensitivity (into the low pptv range) and a fast response time (in the 40–100 ms time regime). Most PTR-MS instruments employed so far use an ion source consisting of a hollow cathode (HC) discharge in water vapour which provides an intense source of proton donor H₃O⁺ ions. As the use of other ions, e.g. NO⁺ and O₂⁺, can be useful for the identification of VOCs and for the detection of VOCs with proton affinities (PA) below that of H₂O, selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) with mass selected ions has been applied in these instances. SIFT-MS suffers, however, from at least two orders lower reagent ion counts rates and therefore SIFT-MS suffers from lower sensitivity than PTR-MS.Here we report the development of a PTR-MS instrument using a modified HC ion source and drift tube design, which allows for the easy and fast switching between H₃O⁺, NO⁺ and O₂⁺ ions produced in high purity and in large quantities in this source. This instrument is capable of measuring low concentrations (with detection limits approaching the ppqv regime) of VOCs using any of the three reagent ions investigated in this study. Therefore this instrument combines the advantages of the PTR-MS technology (the superior sensitivity) with those of SIFT-MS (detection of VOCs with PAs smaller than that of the water molecule and the capability to distinguish between isomeric compounds).We will first discuss the setup of this new PTR+SRI-MS mass spectrometer instrument, its performance for aromates, aldehydes and ketones (with a sensitivity of up to nearly 1000 cps/ppbv and a detection limit of about several 100 ppqv) and finally give some examples concerning the ability to distinguish structural isomeric compounds.     

呼气中痕量挥发性有机物的质子转移反应质谱在线检测研究

通过对自主研制的大气成分在线检测质子转移反应质谱的进样管路系统进行改造,建立了可在线检测呼气中痕量挥发性有机物的质子转移反应质谱装置。通过对呼气进样系统的旁路流量控制,实现对进样速度的调控,既可提高进样速度,以满足实时监测呼气中指定成分浓度变化;也可适时关闭旁路,以降低进样速度,从而对呼气成分进行全谱分析,避免采样袋采样和浓缩的复杂程序和潜在干扰。以作者呼出气体作为研究对象,对装置性能进行测试,结果表明:装置最快响应时间可达1s,对呼气中丙酮的探测灵敏度高达每10-9(V/V)浓度的信号强度为14.6counts/s,多次呼气测量重复性好,有望广泛应用于呼气疾病诊断研究。     

Proton transfer reaction ion trap mass spectrometer

Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry is a relatively new field that has attracted a great deal of interest in the last few years. This technique uses H(3)O(+) as a chemical ionization (CI) reagent to measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the parts per billion by volume (ppbv) to parts per trillion by volume (pptv) range. Mass spectra acquired with a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) are simple because proton transfer chemical ionization is "soft" and results in little or no fragmentation. Unfortunately, peak identification can still be difficult due to isobaric interferences. A possible solution to this problem is to couple the PTR drift tube to an ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS). The use of an ITMS is appealing because of its ability to perform MS/MS and possibly distinguish between isomers and other isobars. Additionally, the ITMS duty cycle is much higher than that of a linear quadrupole so faster data acquisition rates are possible that will allow for detection of multiple compounds. Here we present the first results from a proton transfer reaction ion trap mass spectrometer (PTR-ITMS). The aim of this study was to investigate ion injection and storage efficiency of a simple prototype instrument in order to estimate possible detection limits of a second-generation instrument. Using this prototype a detection limit of 100 ppbv was demonstrated. Modifications are suggested that will enable further reduction in detection limits to the low-ppbv to high-pptv range. Furthermore, the applicability of MS/MS in differentiating between isobaric species was determined. MS/MS spectra of the isobaric compounds methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR) are presented and show fragments of different mass making differentiation possible, even when a mixture of both species is present in the same sample. However, MS/MS spectra of acetone and propanal produce fragments with the same molecular masses but with different intensity ratios. This allows quantitative distinction only if one species is predominant. Fragmentation mechanisms are proposed to explain the results.