A convenient method for calculation of ionic diffusion coefficients for accurate selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry, SIFT-MS

A method to calculate diffusion coefficients of ions important for the selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry, SIFT-MS, is presented. The ions, on which this method is demonstrated, include the SIFT-MS precursors H3O+(H2O)0,1,2,3, NO.+(H2O)0,1,2 and O2+ and the product ions relevant to analysis of breath trace metabolites ammonia (NH3+(H2O)0,1,2, NH4+(H2O)0,1,2), acetaldehyde (C2H4OH+(H2O)0,1,2), acetone (CH3CO+, (CH3)2CO+, (CH3)2COH+(H2O)0,1, (CH3)2CO.NO+), ethanol (C2H5OHH+(H2O)0,1,2) and isoprene (C5H7+, C5H8+, C5H9+). Theoretical model of the (12, 4) potential for interaction between the ions and the helium atoms is used, with the repulsive part approximated by the mean hard-sphere cross section and the attractive part describing ion-induced dipole interactions. The reduced zero-field mobilities at 300 K are calculated using the Viehland and Mason theory [L.A. Viehland, S.L. Lin, E.A. Mason, At. Data Nucl. Data Tables, 60 (1995) 37-95], parameterised by a simple formula as a function of the mean hard-sphere cross section, and converted to diffusion coefficients using the Einstein relation. The method is tested on a set of experimental data for simple ions and cluster ions.