If the mass of the analyte is far higher than xenon, for example Hg, resolution/axis
adjustments would not be applicable with the below procedure. If you do need to make these adjustments, use a peripump and tune solution before connecting GC.
If the mass axis departure for the analyte exceeds 0.05u as a result of the procedure, this indicates that the procedure is not applicable for resolution/axis.
Set up and connect the GC and ICP-MS. Connect the balance gas (100 ppm xenon in helium) to the GC carrier gas line. Set the source pressure 0.3MPa.
Turn on the GC, and then turn on the injector heater, oven heater, transfer line heater, and carrier gas flow. Set the flow rate to 2 ml/min.
Select [Agilent GC] as the Sample Introduction.
Click [Configure Ignition Sequence] on the Startup Pane toolbar, and then select [User Tune]. Also turn on [Set as Global Tune] in the User Tune Pane toolbar.
If you need to restore the original parameters, you need to enter them manually.
Make a note of the current parameters if necessary.
Resolution/Axis |
23, 54, 124 |
---|---|
Lens tune |
124 |
Torch axis |
124 |
80 |
|
P/A |
80, 124, 128, 130, 136 |
Ignite the plasma.
Make the following settings in User tune tasks.
Peri pump: 0 rpm
Nebulizer Gas (also called carrier gas): 1.0 l/min
Makeup gas: 0.0 l/min
Run signal monitor in User tune tasks for Mass124 and 126 to confirm the signal.
Click [Startup Configuration] from the [Startup] group in the Task Navigator, and then run Startup tasks.
Create or open a Batch for data acquisition, and then start data acquisition.
The above is the tuning procedure for the first use of a GC connection. From the second time, you can omit steps 7 and 8. And instead of 9 you can choose to execute Startup tasks at the time of ignition 6.
Masses 23 (Na) or 54 (ArN) are not strong enough, it is possible to use other argon derived molecular ions or elements from the environment. For example 12 (C) instead of 23, or 56 (ArO) instead of 54.