Mass-selected polyatomic cations and anions, produced by electrosonic spray ionization (ESSI), were deposited onto polycrystalline
Au or fluorinated self-assembled monolayer (FSAM) surfaces by soft landing (SL), using a rectilinear ion trap (RIT) mass spectrometer.
Protonated and deprotonated molecules, as well as intact cations and anions generated from such molecules as peptides, inorganic
catalysts, and fluorescent dyes, were soft-landed onto the surfaces. Analysis of the modified surfaces was performed in situ
by Cs+ secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) using the same RIT mass analyzer to characterize the sputtered ions as that used to
mass select the primary ions for SL. Soft-landing times as short as 30 s provided surfaces that yielded good quality SIMS
spectra. Chemical reactions of the surfaces modified by SL were generated in an attached reaction chamber into which the surface
was transferred under vacuum. For example, a surface on which protonated triethanolamine had been soft landed was silylated
using vapor-phase chlorotrimethylsilane before being returned still under vacuum to the preparation chamber where SIMS analysis
revealed the silyloxy functionalization. SL and vapor-phase reactions are complementary methods of surface modification and
in situ surface analysis by SIMS is a simple way to characterize the products produced by either technique.
To Julia Laskin, in appreciation of her incisive contributions to mass spectrometry and especially ion/surface interactions.
Published online February 21, 2009