Charging Effects in Inlet Capillaries

Glass or metal inlet capillaries are commonly used for flow restriction in atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometers. They exhibit a high ion transmission rate and stability at most operating conditions. However, transferring unipolar currents of ions through inlet capillaries can lead to sudden signal dropouts or drifts of the signal intensity, particularly when materials of different conductivity are in contact with the capillary duct. Molecular layers of water and other gases such as liquid chromatography solvents always form on the surfaces of inlet capillaries at atmospheric pressure ionization conditions. These surface layers play a major role in ion transmission and the occurrence of charging effects, as ions adsorb on the capillary walls as well, charging the walls to electric potentials of up to kilovolts and eventually leading to a hindrance of ion transport into or through the capillary duct. In this work, surface charging effects are reported in dependence on the capillary material, i.e., borosilicate glass, (reduced) lead silicate, quartz, and metal. Low electrical conductance materials show a more pronounced long-term signal drift (e.g., quartz), while higher electrical conductance materials lead to stable long-term behavior.

Automated summary

Glass or metal inlet capillaries are commonly used for flow restriction in atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometers due to their high ion transmission rate and stability. However, signal dropouts or drifts can occur when transferring ions through the capillaries, especially when different conductivity materials are in contact. Surface layers and charging effects on the capillary walls play a major role in ion transmission and can hinder ion transport.