A Versatile and Easy Method to Calibrate a Two-Compartment Flow Cell for Differential Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry Measurements

Abstract

Online techniques for the quantitative analysis of reaction products have many advantages over offline methods. However, owing to the low product formation rates in electrochemical reactions, few of these techniques can be coupled to electrochemistry. An exception is differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS), which gains increasing popularity not least because of its high time resolution in the sub-second regime. DEMS is often combined with a dual thin-layer cell (a two-compartment flow cell), which helps to mitigate a number of problems that arise due to the existence of a vacuum|electrolyte interface. However, the efficiency with which this cell transfers volatile reaction products into the vacuum of the mass spectrometer is far below 100%. Therefore, a calibration constant that considers not only the sensitivity of the DEMS setup but also the transfer efficiency of the dual thin-layer cell is needed to translate the signals observed in the mass spectrometer into electrochemical product formation rates. However, it can be challenging or impossible to design an experiment that yields such a calibration constant. Here, we show that the transfer efficiency of the dual thin-layer cell depends on the diffusion coefficient of the analyte. Based on this observation, we suggest a two-point calibration method. That is, a plot of the logarithm of the transfer efficiencies determined for H₂ and O₂ versus the logarithm of their diffusion coefficients defines a straight line. Extrapolation of this line to the diffusion coefficient of another analyte yields a good estimate of its transfer efficiency. This is a versatile and easy calibration method, because the transfer efficiencies of H₂ and O₂ are readily accessible for a large range of electrode–electrolyte combinations.