Kinetic energy effects in mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry using a sector/quadrupole tandem instrument

Abstract

Using a new hybrid (magnet/quadrupole) tandem mass spectrometer the effects of ion kinetic energy and target mass upon energy deposition have been investigated. In the range 1–100 eV, the degree of fragmentation is very sensitive to changes in the translational energy of the parent ion. Comparisons with MS/MS spectra recorded for the same ions (protonated 5-indanol, protonated diethylamine) using other instruments show that less significant changes in spectra occur in the kV energy range. Plots of branching ratios for competitive collision-induced dissociation channels against collision energy (1–100 eV) resemble, qualitatively, breakdown curves displaying ion abundances versus internal energy. In addition, comparisons of the effect of collision energy are made with spectral changes resulting from selection of the scattering angle in kV energy collisions. It is evident that translational energy selection is a counterpart, for spectrometers operating at low translational energy, of angle-resolved mass spectrometry.