Determination of Ca+ and K+ by pulsed glow discharge sector-field mass spectrometry

Abstract

A microsecond pulsed glow discharge (PGD) has been employed in conjunction with a miniature Mattauch–Herzog double-focusing mass spectrograph. Several advantages have been realized through use of the PGD, including a higher instantaneous power, reduced sample heating, and the ability to temporally resolve spectra of analyte and support-gas ions. The latter advantage has allowed the determination of ⁴⁰Ca⁺ and ³⁹K⁺ concentrations in an argon discharge. Detection limits are in the tens of μg g⁻¹ regime and are limited by the availability of suitable analytical standards.