A spurious [CH5]− ion: Problems with negative chemical ionization quadrupole instrument

It is shown that in a quadrupole mass spectrometer set up for negative chemical ionization, positive ions can be formed between the ionization chamber and the analyser both by electron impact and by chemical ionization. These ions will be registered together with negative ions formed in the ion source if the instrument is equipped with a positive and a negative conversion dynode and may reach the secondary electron multiplier even if the negative conversion dynode is disconnected.