Introduction
Silicon (Si) analysis is typically conducted using hydrogen (H₂) as a reaction gas to remove or reduce interferences from N₂⁺ and CO⁺. Additionally, silicon interacts with ammonia (NH₃) to form Si (NH₃) clusters. In fact, the mass shift approach using ammonia is an established method for Si isotope analysis, where silicon forms Si (NH₃) clusters at masses 44, 45, and 46, to the three major Si isotopes 28, 29 and 30, respectively. Since isotope analysis typically demands higher precision and accuracy than total elemental analysis, the fact that the mass shift approach is the established method for isotope analysis underscores its effectiveness in mitigating spectral interferences, its primary advantage.
Featuring the NexION® 5000 multi-quadrupole ICP-MS, this technical note highlights the mass shift technique on total elemental analysis of Si using NH₃ gas and provides an alternative approach to conventional cell gas optimization. The NexION 5000 ICP-MS is an exceptional platform for the removal of interferents accomplished by controlled reactions thanks to its quadrupole Universal Cell Technology (UCT, Q2). The combination of the UCT and the additional analyzer quadrupoles (Q1 and Q3) ensures that only target masses enter the UCT and only target products reach the detector.
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