Particle Mass Spectrometer (PMS) and its Application to Nano-Particle Sizing in Various Systems

Abstract

Particle mass spectrometry has been shown to be an effective diagnostic technique to determine particle size and size distribution of charged nano-particles originating from different reactive sources. In the present paper, the principle of the PMS is described in detail and examples of application to various particle formation systems are presented. A spark generator, a microwave reactor, and a low-pressure premixed flame burner were used to produce particles of different materials in different size ranges between 1 and 10 nm. The resolution and sensitivity of the PMS has been improved by the adaptation of a preamplifier consisting of a secondary electron multiplier coupled to an external conversion dynode. The particle mass – being the main parameter of the measurements – is not influenced by the additional acceleration due to the conversion current. The use of a secondary electron multiplier leads to a signal gain of 104 compared with measurements without the preamplifier.