Fluorinating reagents are among the most extreme chemical compounds known. When combined with high mass throughput technologies, the most difficult matrices can be quickly reduced to non-volatile and volatile fluoride fractions. Molecular by nature, this chemical separation results in a significantly more complete separation than physical techniques. We report recent progress on the development of a new methodology based on the generation of volatile metal fluorides through the use of nitrogen trifluoride (NF<sub>3</sub>), and the separation and measurement of these metal fluorides by electron ionization mass spectrometry. Though unreactive under ambient conditions, NF<sub>3</sub> reacts selectively at specified temperatures with various metal-containing species to form volatile and non-volatile metal fluorides. Utilizing these species-dependent traits, the volatile fluoride components of a sample may be sequentially produced and thus separated on-line. Metals were reacted inside a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), and the gas outlet of which was directly coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) with an electron impact ionization source via a molecular leak valve.

Rapid and selective production and separation of volatile metal fluorides via nitrogen trifluoride fluorination for mass spectrometry

251st National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.