PNNL

Abstract

Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) single photon ionization mass spectrometry (SPI-MS) is a vacuum-based technique typically used for analysis of gas phase and solid samples, but not for liquids, due to the challenge in introducing volatile liquids in vacuum. Here we present the first demonstration of in situ liquid analysis by integrating the System for Analysis at the Liquid Vacuum Interface (SALVI) microfluidic reactor into VUV SPI-MS. Four representative volatile organic compound (VOC) solutions were used to illustrate feasibility of liquid analysis. Our results show accurate mass identification of the VOC molecules and reliable determination of appearance energy (AE) that is consistent with ionization energy (IE) for gaseous species in literature as reported. This work validates that the vacuum-compatible SALVI microfluidic interface can be utilized at the synchrotron beamline and enable in situ study of gas-phase molecules evaporating off the surface of a liquid, which holds importance in the study of condensed matter chemistry.