Journal of Mass Spectrometry · 2000 · 313 citations · 14 references
High Explosives HmxEngineeringChemical AnalysisBiological Mass SpectrometryChemistrySpectrochemical AnalysisExplosionsChemical EngineeringAnalytical InstrumentationPdms MatrixAnalytical ChemistryIon EmissionBiochemistryExplosive DecompositionLow-mass IonsIon MobilityHigh ExplosivesNatural SciencesExplosive ChemistrySpectroscopyMass SpectrometryChemical KineticsMolecular Fragmentation
The study proposes identities for the most abundant ions and links their presence or absence in PDMS spectra to the explosive matrix properties. Low‑mass ions such as NO⁺, NO₂⁻, C₂H₄N⁺, and CH₂N⁺ were detected in PDMS of HMX, RDX, and CL‑20, indicating explosive decomposition and enhanced protein ionization, while TNT produced none of these ions, explaining its poor matrix performance, and PETN and NC showed weaker decomposition with NC’s matrix effectiveness likely attributable to its high adsorption capacity.
The low-mass ions observed in both positive and negative plasma desorption mass spectrometry (PDMS) of the high explosives HMX, RDX, CL-20, NC, PETN and TNT are reported. Possible identities of the most abundant ions are suggested and their presence or absence in the different spectra is related to the properties of the explosives as matrices in PDMS. The detection of abundant NO+ and NO2- ions for HMX, RDX and CL-20, which are efficient matrices, indicates that explosive decomposition takes place in PDMS of these three substances and that a contribution from the corresponding chemical energy release is possible. The observation of abundant C2H4N+ and CH2N+ ions, which have high protonation properties, might also explain the higher protein charge states observed with these matrices. Also, the observation of NO2-, possibly formed by electron scavenging which increases the survival probability of positively charged protein molecular ions, completes the pattern. TNT does not give any of these ions and it is thereby possible to explain why it does not work as a PDMS matrix. For NC and PETN, decomposition does not seem to be as pronounced as for HMX, RDX and CL-20, and also no particularly abundant ions with high protonation properties are observed. The fact that NC works well as a matrix might be related to other properties of this compound, such as its high adsorption ability.
14
Fast atom bombardment of solids as an ion source in mass spectrometry
M. Barber, Robert S. Bordoli, R. D. Sedgwick et al. · Nature · 1981 · 581 citations