FT/ICR/MS:Technique Development and Non-Biological Applications

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This project is in the general area of analytical and surface chemistry and in the subfield of mass spectrometry. The primary thrust of this experimental program is the development of a Fourier transform mass spectrometer (FTMS) with which ultrahigh mass resolution and mass accuracy measurements can be made at significantly improved signal-to-noise ratios. Central to these instrumentation improvements is the reduction of magnetic field static inhomogeneity in the 7 Tesla superconducting solenoid by constructing the trapped-ion cell from non-magnetic materials and employing new cell geometries, exploration of the nature and limits to noise in the FTMS instrument, and enhancement of the analytical signal relative to this noise through use of new excitation and detection techniques. Further improvements in FTMS sensitivity, especially for difficult-to-ionize samples, can be expected with the use of a newly developed fast neutral beam ion source. Applications of this improved instrument to various analytical and mechanistic problems should give rise to new insights in the chemistry and physics of clusters, in the characterization of polymers, in gas phase ion-molecule chemistry, and in the characterization of electrode surface constituents. Additionally, the improved FTMS technology that derives from this research can be expected to impact broadly and positively in the biosciences.