Using Hydrogen as a Carrier Gas in GC-MS

Traditionally helium has been the carrier gas of choice for GC-MS, however significant cost increases and limited availability of supply have created genuine interest in alternative carrier gases, with hydrogen identified as the most useful for capillary GC.

For GC, switching an existing method from helium to hydrogen can often be relatively straightforward. For GC-MS though, there can be major challenges in making the switch. This module explores the common challenges and strategies that can be employed to resolve these.

Topics include:

• Do we really need to switch?
• Common challenges and solutions
  • Pneumatic control
  • Vacuum system
  • Activation
  • Sensitivity
  • Ion-molecule reactions
  • NIST reference spectra
  • Tuning