Determination of alcohol compounds using corona discharge ion mobility spectrometry.

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a very fast, highly sensitive, and inexpensive technique, it permits efficient monitoring of volatile organic compounds like alcohols. In this article, positive ion mobility spectra for six alcohol organic compounds have been systematically studied for the first time using a high-resolution IMS apparatus equipped with a discharge ionization source. Utilizing protonated water cluster ions (H2O)n H+ as the reactant ions and clean air as the drift gas, alcohol organic compounds, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol and 2-octanol, all exhibit product ion characteristic peaks in their respective ion mobility spectrometry, that is a result of proton transfer reactions between the alcohols and reaction ions (H2O)n H+. The mixture of these alcohols, including two isomers, has been detected, and the results showed that they could be distinguished effectively in the ion mobility spectrum. The reduced mobility values have been determined, which are in very well agreement with the traditional 63Ni-IMS experimental values. The exponential dilution method was used to calibrate the alcohol concentrations, and a detection limit available for the alcohols is in order of magnitude of a few ng/L.

[Discharge ion mobility spectrometry of ketonic organic compounds].

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a sensitive technique for fast on-line monitoring trace volatile organic compounds based upon the mobilities of gas phase ions at ambient pressure in weak electric field. In the present work, protonated water reactant ions were successfully prepared, and eight ketones were studied on a homemade high-resolution IMS apparatus using a discharge ionization source. The reduced mobility values of all ions were derived from the observed ion mobility spectra. The experimentally determined reduced mobilities for acetone, 2-butone, 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone acetophenone, cyclohexanone and product ions were compared with the previously reported values in the Ni-IMS, indicating that they are in good agreement. The reduced mobilities of methyl isopropyl ketone, 4-methyl-2-pentanone and cyclopentanone ions were given for the first time. The ionization process for organic compounds in the authors' discharge ion mobility spectrometer is suggested to be similar to Ni-IMS system, i.e., the proton transfer reactions produce protonated ketone ions. In addition, a linear correlation was found between the reduced mobilities of the ketone ions and their molecular masses. Qualitative measurements show that the limit of detection is in the ng x L(-1) order of magnitude in the authors' discharge ion mobility spectrometer.

[Ion mobility spectrometry for the isomeric volatile organic compounds].

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is based on determining the drift velocities, which the ionized sample molecules attain in the weak electric field of a drift tube at atmospheric pressure. The drift behavior can be affected by structural differences of the analytes, so that ion mobility spectrometry has the ability to separated isomeric compounds. In the present article, an introduction to IMS is given, followed by a description of the instrument used for the experiments to differentiate isomeric compounds. Positive ion mobility spectras of three kinds of isomeric volatile organic compounds were studied in a homemade high-resolution IMS apparatus with a discharge ionization source. The study includes the differences in the structure of carbon chain, the style of function group, and the position of function group. The reduced mobility values were determined, which are in very good agreement with the previously reported theoretical values using neural network theory. The influence of the structural features of the substances and including the size and shape of the molecule has been investigated. The reduced mobility values increases in the order: alcohols < acetones < aromas, linears < branches < cycles, and para- < meta- < ortho-. The deviating ion mobility spectra of the constitutional isomers studied reflect the influence of structural features. In order to calibrate or determine the detection limits and the sensitivity of the ion mobility spectrometry, the exponential dilution flask (EDF) was used. Using this method, the detection limit of the analytes can reach the order of magnitude of ng x L(-1).