The Study of Titanium and Zirconium Ions in Water by MPT-LTQ Mass Spectrometry in Negative Mode

Abstract

Microwave plasma torches (MPTs) can be used as simple and low power-consumption ambient ion sources. When MPT-mass spectrometry (MPT-MS) is applied in the detection of some metal elements, the metallic ions exhibit some novel features which are significantly different with those obtained by the traditional inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and may be helpful for metal element analysis. As the representative elements of group IVA, titanium and zirconium are both of importance and value in modern industry, and they have impacts on human health. Here, we first provide a study on the complex anions of titanium and zirconium in water by using the MPT as ion source and a linear ion trap mass spectrometer (LTQ-MS). These complex anions were produced in the plasma flame by an aqueous solution flowing through the central tube of the MPT, and were introduced into the inlet of the mass spectrometry working in negative ion mode to get the feature mass spectrometric signals. Moreover, the feature fragment patterns of these ions in multi-step collision- induced dissociation processes have been explained. Under the optimized conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) using the MS2 (the second tandem mass spectrometry) procedure was estimated to be at the level of 10 μg/L for titanium and 20 μg/L for zirconium with linear dynamics ranges that cover at least two orders of magnitude, i.e., between 0–500 μg/L and 20–200 μg/L, respectively. These experimental data demonstrated that the MPT-MS is a promising and useful tool in field analysis of titanium and zirconium ions in water, and can be applied in many fields, such as environmental control, hydrogeology, and water quality inspection. In addition, MPT-MS could also be used as a supplement of ICP-MS for the rapid and on-site analysis of metal ions.

Zirconium in modern analytical chemistry

“…MPTs can be used as simple and low-power-consumption ambient ion sources. In the work of Yang et al (2017), MPT was used in combination with a linear ion trap MS. Under the optimized conditions, the LOD was estimated to be at the level 20 μg/l for zirconium, with linear dynamics range 20-200 μg/l.…”

Layered titanium phosphate nanosheets with water in salt electrolyte toward high-voltage aqueous full lithium-ion batteries

“…1f) is consistent with the reported test results. 28 The strong band located near 1009.9 cm −1 originates from the asymmetrical (P–O) stretching and the covalence of the Ti–O interaction is supported by the clear appearance of the totally symmetric stretching near 326.1 cm −1 .…”

Contemporary Research Progress on the Detection of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

“…After a long time, Ti-Qiang Zhang as well as Zhi-Qiang Zhu [ 22 , 23 , 132 ] studied the direct desorption/ionization approach of MPT on a linear ion trap (LTQ) mass spectrometer to analyze a series of small organic molecules, and they showed that MPT is a useful alternative ambient ion source. Zhi-Qiang Zhu’s group [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 ] has also completed a lot of work on the detection of trace metal in aqueous solutions by MPT source, coupled with a mass spectrometer (MPT-MS), reaching an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of MPT.…”

“…After starting with a brief review on the hazards, migration, distribution and traditional analysis methods of PAHs which are widely used in recent years, including liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy and so on, we mainly want to present the applications of the modern ambient mass spectrometry in the detection of PAHs; in addition, we present the far out novel results in our lab by using microwave plasma torch (MPT) mass spectrometry, which exhibited the versatility of MPT MS as a platform in the research of PAHs. MPT ion source is a novel ambient ion generator and has multiple advantages, for example, simple construction of the device and easy operation, low power dissipation, relative high sensitivity, and suitable for many types of samples including metal elements and organic samples [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ].…”