The newly designed "Aim" soft chemical ionization reactor for direct, real-time measurement of inorganic acids, functionalized organics, and PFAS species in air

Description:
Soft chemical ionization coupled with TOF mass analysis is a powerful technique that allows real-time, direct measurement of trace compounds in air or headspace. Because they enable analysis and quantification of complex mixtures without pre-separation, soft chemical ionization approaches such as proton-transfer-reaction (PTR) have become an essential tool in various fields including environmental monitoring, energy and chemicals, food and fragrances, and breath analysis. TOFWERK’s novel “Aim” chemical ionization reactor addresses many of the shortcomings of PTR and makes possible the detection of (highly) functionalized organic compounds, halogenated species including PFAS, and inorganic acids. Detection limits in the single digit part-per-trillion range are typical. The Aim reactor consists of a medium-pressure flow tube reaction cell which is optimized for adduct-ion and charge transfer ionization. Several improvements are made over previous chemical ionization systems. The reactor shape and material are designed to minimize interactions between surfaces and analytes, which improves response time by a factor of three. VUV ionization sources are used to generate both positive and negative reagent ions, avoiding the logistical and safety concerns of radioactive ion sources. Finally, ionization sensitivity is no longer dependent on humidity. Numerous characterization and application measurements have been conducted with Aim. We will show example data from long-term ambient monitoring in wintertime air (environment), semiconductor clean room monitoring (industry and manufacturing), and PFAS contaminants in ambient air and consumer products (environment and food).