Lithium ion attachment mass spectrometry: Instrumentation and features

The design and construction of a lithium ion attachment mass spectrometer that is used to study the occurrence of free radical intermediates and molecular and atomic species (which are not found under ordinary conditions) on a real-time basis in the gas phase are described. The newly developed device exhibits several advantages over conventional mass spectrometers. The performance of this equipment was extensively tested and optimized, and experimental tests show that the efficiency and sensitivity of the instrument are moderately high. The main applications and possible future perspectives of this approach are briefly reviewed.