The Electrospray Ionization (ESI) technique allows to bring molecules and compounds like biomolecules, nanoparticles and complexes as intact and isolated charged units in the gas phase.
Mass spectrometry, is a powerful tool for a variety of analytical applications and is ideally suited for the preparation of charged molecules with well-defined compositions and charge state. The combination of an ESI-source and a set-up for mass spectrometry in the custom-made instrument under construction at ISM will allow to select and deposit mass- and charge-selected ions of several different materials on surfaces.
The ESI source operates at ambient pressure and the produced molecular ions are transported in vacuum via a differential pumping section. A system of electrostatic lenses and an octupole remove most of the contaminations from neutral species and solvent molecules, transporting the ion beam into a quadrupole mass filter (QMS), operated in high vacuum, which performs the mass/charge selection. An electrostatic deflector then directs the beam either to a characterization section or to a “soft-landing” deposition chamber. A third line for gas phase spectroscopy will be implemented in the near future.
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