Photodetachment photoelectron spectroscopy of multiply charged anions using electrospray ionization

A magnetic-bottle time-of-flight (TOF) photoelectron spectrometer, coupled with an electrospray ionization source, has been developed for the investigation of multiply charged anions in the gas phase. Anions formed in the electrospray source are guided by a radio-frequency quadrupole ion guide into a quadrupole ion trap, where the ions are accumulated. A unique feature of this apparatus involves the coupling of a TOF mass spectrometer to the ion trap with perpendicular ion extraction. The ion trap significantly improves the duty cycle of the experiments and allows photodetachment experiments to be performed with low repetition-rate lasers (10-20 Hz). This novel combination makes the photodetachment photoelectron spectroscopy studies of multiply charged anions possible for the first time. Furthermore, the perpendicular extraction of ions, pulsed out of the ion trap, to the TOF mass spectrometer allows the ion energies to be conveniently referenced to ground, simplifying the configuration of the TOF mass spectrometer and the subsequent magnetic-bottle TOF photoelectron spectrometer. The mass resolution ( M/Delta M) achieved is about 800 for smaller ions. The magnetic-bottle photoelectron spectrometer resolution is about 11 meV full width at half maximum for 0.5 eV photoelectrons with an overall resolution of Delta E/E similar to 2%. The detailed design, construction, and operation of the new apparatus are presented. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(99)00804-7].