TY - JOUR
T1 - A quantitative light-isotope measurement system for climate and energy applications
AU - Thorn, Robert P.
AU - Gillespie, Andrew K.
AU - Lin, Cuikun
AU - Higgins, Heather
AU - Lacouture, Shelby
AU - Baca, Robert
AU - Tejerina, Baudilio
AU - Durso, Andrew A.
AU - Jones, Django Ian
AU - Ogu, Ruth
AU - Neurohr, Brett
AU - Dardik, Trevor
AU - Duncan, Robert V.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Texas Tech physics shop for their technical assistance and useful discussions. A special thanks to Dr. Steven C. Beu (S C Beu Consulting, Austin, TX) for extensive contributions as a consultant on this effort to the instrument design and in the LabView software development. We thank Chase Mulligan, Nicholas Elsaesser, Madison Atwood, Jared Rauch, and Jonathan Moore for providing assembly and mechanical design and fabrication services. This work was supported by the Texas Research Incentive Program and Texas Tech University . Identification of commercial products used in this work is for documentation purposes, and does not imply any recommendation or endorsement by Texas Tech University or our affiliates.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s)
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - We describe the design, operation, and performance of a new instrumental configuration capable of quantitative determinations with sub-picomole accuracy of dilute concentrations of low mass species, such as He4, He3, Ne20, and Ar40, in a balance of stable hydrogen (H2, DH, and D2) gas. This inexpensive system may realize important applications in fields ranging from climate studies to hydrogen fusion energy research, thereby providing an expanded availability of this diagnostic within emerging energy systems research and development. These spectra, calibration curves, and determinations were obtained by using a novel method for the purification and subsequent removal of the hydrogen matrix gas, and an extensively modified commercial Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer with an electron impact (EI) ionizer. These high-resolution FT-ICR mass spectrometers have routinely achieved a resolution, R = m/Δm better than 10,000 Da at mass-3, with a mass resolution that scales as 1/m. These devices have easily resolved D2 from He4, and DH from He3. The performance of this upgraded instrument has demonstrated the ability to detect impurities from tiny air leaks, such as Ar40 and Ne20, in the presence of the hydrogen matrix gas. While no concentration measurements of radioactive species have been attempted to date with this system, it is expected to easily resolve DT from D2H (a 0.0059 Da mass difference) and HT from all other mass-4 species.
AB - We describe the design, operation, and performance of a new instrumental configuration capable of quantitative determinations with sub-picomole accuracy of dilute concentrations of low mass species, such as He4, He3, Ne20, and Ar40, in a balance of stable hydrogen (H2, DH, and D2) gas. This inexpensive system may realize important applications in fields ranging from climate studies to hydrogen fusion energy research, thereby providing an expanded availability of this diagnostic within emerging energy systems research and development. These spectra, calibration curves, and determinations were obtained by using a novel method for the purification and subsequent removal of the hydrogen matrix gas, and an extensively modified commercial Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer with an electron impact (EI) ionizer. These high-resolution FT-ICR mass spectrometers have routinely achieved a resolution, R = m/Δm better than 10,000 Da at mass-3, with a mass resolution that scales as 1/m. These devices have easily resolved D2 from He4, and DH from He3. The performance of this upgraded instrument has demonstrated the ability to detect impurities from tiny air leaks, such as Ar40 and Ne20, in the presence of the hydrogen matrix gas. While no concentration measurements of radioactive species have been attempted to date with this system, it is expected to easily resolve DT from D2H (a 0.0059 Da mass difference) and HT from all other mass-4 species.
KW - Atmospheric noble gas determination
KW - Compact
KW - High resolution mass analysis
KW - Hydrogen purification
KW - Novel sample purification
KW - Quantitative helium isotope analysis
KW - Sensitive FT-ICR
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102783389&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijms.2021.116574
DO - 10.1016/j.ijms.2021.116574
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85102783389
SN - 1387-3806
VL - 464
JO - International Journal of Mass Spectrometry
JF - International Journal of Mass Spectrometry
M1 - 116574
ER -