Interface cone cleaning bracket for inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer

Abstract

The invention belongs to instrument analysis devices, and particularly relates to a cleaning bracket for an interface cone of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. The invention relates to a cleaning bracket for an interface cone for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, and aims to provide a cleaning bracket for an interface cone for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, which can conveniently and quickly realize the cleaning operation of interface cones with different specifications, provide a plurality of modes of simple soaking, stirring cleaning and ultrasonic cleaning, and avoid the situation that the service life is shortened due to deformation caused by pressing contact of the tip of a cone opening in the cleaning process. The invention discloses an interface cone cleaning bracket for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. The device is characterized by comprising a circular bracket main body, a central hole, a big-end-up conical combined step, a small-end-down conical combined step, a small-end-down conical combined step, a small-end-down conical combined step and a small-end-down conical combined step, wherein the central hole and the bracket main body are coaxially arranged; the liquid inlets are located in the lower end face of the bracket body and are radially arranged with the axis of the center hole as the center, and the convection holes are formed in the middle of the bracket body and are radially arranged with the axis of the center hole as the center.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of instrumental analysis device, and particularly relates to a cleaning bracket for an interface cone of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. BACKGROUND

[0002] In inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, analyte ions are generated in a plasma at very high temperature and atmospheric pressure, and must be transmitted to a mass spectrometer operating at very low pressure for detection. In a typical instrument configuration, the analyte ions are first collected by a first interface cone (a sampling cone), and then enter a low pressure interface region where they are expanded and extracted by a combination of a second interface cone (a skimmer cone) and an extraction lens. These interface cones are critical to the performance of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and so should be regularly checked for cleanliness of the orifice.

[0003] Currently, there are two methods for cleaning the interface cones (sampling cone and skimmer cone). One is to use solvent chemical cleaning, which usually involves immersing the interface cone in a solvent for soaking or ultrasonic cleaning, or using a cotton swab to dip a small amount of solvent to clean the tip of the cone orifice. The solvent is corrosive, and the whole immersion cleaning method can easily cause the interface cone body surface deposits to be dissolved, and the threaded connection part of the cone body to be corroded, thereby affecting the sealing performance of the cone and instrument connection, reducing its service life. The efficiency of the wiping cleaning is not ideal. CN105344648A discloses a device for cleaning a skimmer cone in a mass spectrometer, which realizes immersion cleaning of the cone head in the cleaning tank by stage type cleaning tank containing cleaning liquid, but does not have ultrasonic cleaning capability. The other is to use physical methods to remove contaminants. That is, to use sandpaper, polishing paste, etc. to polish the cone. The force of manual polishing is difficult to control, and it is easy to cause damage and deformation of the cone orifice, causing the interface cone to be scrapped prematurely. CN119635501A discloses a high-efficiency cleaning device for a sampling cone and a skimmer cone of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, which realizes the cleaning purpose by fixing and rotating the sampling cone or the skimmer cone through the setting of a servo motor and a mounting piece, and pressing the sampling cone or the skimmer cone through the setting of a telescopic cylinder and a pressing piece. The interface cone is very easy to deform, especially the tip of the skimmer cone orifice, which is very delicate. Therefore, the tip should not be in contact with any surface during cleaning, disassembly and reinstallation to the instrument. In the device, the concave-convex piece must be tightly attached to the cone body during the pressing and polishing process. On the one hand, a single specification concave-convex piece cannot freely adapt to different specifications of the cone body, causing the use process to be cumbersome. On the other hand, the cone orifice is inevitably extruded or expanded during the pressing and polishing process, which can easily cause deformation and shorten the service life of the cone. SUMMARY

[0004] The object of the present application is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and provide a cleaning bracket for an interface cone of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, which can conveniently and quickly realize cleaning operation of interface cones of different specifications, provide multiple mode selection of simple soaking, stirring cleaning and ultrasonic cleaning, and avoid deformation of the tip of the cone due to pressure contact during the cleaning process, thereby prolonging the service life.

[0005] The object of the present application is achieved by the following technical solutions:

[0006] A cleaning bracket for an interface cone of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, characterized in that the device comprises a circular ring-shaped bracket body, a central hole coaxially arranged with the bracket body and penetrating the upper and lower end faces of the bracket body, a combined step arranged on the upper end face of the bracket body and tapering from large to small, a plurality of liquid inlet ports arranged on the lower end face of the bracket body and radially arranged around the central hole axis, and a plurality of convection holes arranged in the middle part of the bracket body and radially arranged around the central hole axis.

[0007] The combined step is formed by at least two limiting steps, and the edges of each limiting step are connected to form a cone surface suitable for the interface cone.

[0008] The axes of the plurality of liquid inlet ports all intersect the same circle

[0009] The plurality of convection holes are located above the liquid inlet ports and below the limiting steps, and the axes of the plurality of convection holes all intersect the same circle.

[0010] The plurality of liquid inlet ports are four, and the axes of the four liquid inlet ports are arranged in a cross shape.

[0011] The plurality of convection holes are four, and the axes of the four convection holes are arranged in a cross shape.

[0012] The diameter of the central hole is less than 2mm of the diameter of the smallest interface cone and greater than the diameter of the convection hole.

[0013] The diameter of the limiting step is 1-1.25 times the diameter of the interface cone, and the step surface of the limiting step is higher than the convection hole.

[0014] The material of the bracket body is PTFE which is corrosion-resistant.

[0015] The present application has the following advantages:

[0016] 1. The present application has a simple structure, easy-to-obtain materials and convenient manufacturing.

[0017] 2. When the present application is used for cleaning operation, only the interface cone hole and the nearby conical part to be cleaned are immersed in the cleaning liquid, thereby avoiding the problem of corrosion of the threaded connection part of the cone during the whole immersion cleaning, and prolonging the service life of the interface cone.

[0018] 3、The application can be applied to the soaking elution operation of the mass spectrometer interface cone, and stirring cleaning and ultrasonic cleaning can be realized, and the selectivity of the method is increased; compared with the pure soaking elution mode, the cleaning effect of the added stirring cleaning and ultrasonic cleaning is also significantly improved.

[0019] 4、The application does not touch the interface cone hole during the cleaning operation process, and can effectively avoid the problems of interface cone hole deformation and interface cone early scrap caused by pressure.

[0020] 5、The application can realize cleaning of mass spectrometer interface cones of different diameters through the limiting steps of different diameters, has the characteristics of convenient operation and wide applicability, and can be widely applied to cleaning and maintenance of mass spectrometer interface cones in various laboratories. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 is a front view structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the application.

[0022] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an A direction structure of an embodiment of the application.

[0023] Figure 3 is a sectional view of B-B and C-C directions of an embodiment of the application.

[0024] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a use state of an embodiment of the application.

[0025] Figure 5 is a front view structural schematic diagram of an interface cone.

[0026] Figure 6 is a top view structural schematic diagram of an interface cone.

[0027] Reference signs: bracket main body 1; liquid inlet 2; first limiting step 3, second limiting step 4; center hole 5; convection hole 6; interface cone 7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings are further described below.

[0029] The cleaning bracket of the interface cone (including sampling cones and intercepting cones with the same structure) for inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer as shown in the figure includes: bracket main body 1; liquid inlet 2; combined step; center hole 5; convection hole 6.

[0030] The bracket body 1 is circular column, the top end is large below small and conical combination step; the combination step is combined by the larger first limiting step 3 and the smaller second limiting step 4, is used to support the interface cone, is immersed in the solvent and is implemented cleaning.The edge of the first limiting step is connected with the edge of the second limiting step to form a conical surface, which is adapted to the conical surface of the lower part of the interface cone, so that the conical surface of the lower part of the interface cone does not touch the limiting step during use.Most of the cleaning solvents are corrosive, and the bracket body 1 is made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which can resist corrosion of the cleaning solvent; other materials with good processing performance and resistance to cleaning solvent corrosion can also be selected.

[0031] The bracket body is coaxially provided with a circular central hole 5 penetrating the upper and lower end faces; the lower bottom surface of the bracket body is arranged with a plurality of liquid inlet ports 2 (four square liquid inlet ports are shown in the figure) communicating with the circular central hole, which are arranged in a cross shape (i.e. a kind of radial arrangement) with the central hole axis as the center, and the axes of the liquid inlet ports all intersect with the same circle. The central part of the bracket body is arranged with a plurality of convection holes 6 (four circular convection holes 6 are shown in the figure) communicating with the circular central hole, which are arranged in a cross shape (i.e. a kind of radial arrangement) with the central hole axis as the center, and the axes of the convection holes all intersect with the same circle plane.

[0032] The diameter of the central hole 5 is smaller than the minimum interface cone diameter of 2mm, which can communicate all the liquid inlet ports 2 and convection holes 6 during use; so that a turbulent flow can be formed in the circular central hole during stirring cleaning or ultrasonic cleaning operation, improving the elution effect of the cone body deposit.

[0033] As a preferred, the diameter of the second limiting step 4 is 1.25 times the diameter of the interface cone (sampling cone), and the step surface of the second limiting step is located above the convection hole; the diameter of the first limiting step 3 is 1.1 times the diameter of the interface cone (cutting cone), and the step surface of the first limiting step is 5mm higher than the step surface of the second limiting step.

[0034] The plurality of convection holes 6 are located above the liquid inlet ports 2 and below the limiting step 4; and the axes of the plurality of convection holes are located on the same circle with the central hole axis as the center.

[0035] It should be noted that:

[0036] 1. The diameter and depth of the second limiting step 4 are not limited to those used in this embodiment, as long as the interface cone is not easy to slip out during the cleaning process after being placed, and is located above the convection hole; similarly, the diameter of the first limiting step 3 and the size of being higher than the second limiting step are not limited to those used in this embodiment, as long as the interface cone is not easy to slip out during the cleaning process after being placed.

[0037] 2, This embodiment is provided with two layers of limiting steps, when the instrument configuration is needed, three layers or other number of layers can also be provided, the setting conditions refer to limiting step 3 implementation.

[0038] 3, The liquid inlet 2 and the convection hole 6 can be set to any shape, such as semicircular, triangular, etc., and the number can be more than 4, as long as the above-mentioned position conditions are met, the number is consistent, uniform, and staggered.

[0039] The specific use method of the present application is as follows:

[0040] Step one, place the cleaning bracket in a beaker of appropriate size, with the liquid inlet 2 at the bottom, the limiting step 3 and the limiting step 4 upward;

[0041] Step two, put the mass spectrometer interface cone hole downward into the appropriate size limiting step 3 or 4;

[0042] Step three, add cleaning solvent to the beaker until the liquid level is flush with the lower end surface of the limiting step 3 or 4 where the interface cone is placed;

[0043] The next step is step four, or step five, or step six.

[0044] Step four, soak until the interface cone hole and nearby deposits to be cleaned are eluted, then rinse with pure water, dry or dry, and the cleaning process is complete.

[0045] Step five: place a stirring rod or a stirring rod in the beaker after step three is completed, mechanically or electromagnetically stir to clean, then elute the deposits of the interface cone, rinse with pure water, dry or dry, and the cleaning is complete.

[0046] Step six: place the beaker after step three is completed into an ultrasonic cleaner for ultrasonic cleaning, then elute the deposits of the interface cone, rinse with pure water, dry or dry, and the cleaning is complete.

Claims

1. A cone cleaning bracket for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, characterized in that: The device includes a circular bracket body (1), a central hole (5) arranged coaxially with the bracket body and penetrating the upper and lower end faces of the bracket body, a combination step of a cone shape that is larger at the top and smaller at the bottom and located on the upper end face of the bracket body, a number of liquid inlets (2) located on the lower end face of the bracket body and arranged radially with the central hole axis as the center, and a number of convection holes (6) located in the middle of the bracket body and arranged radially with the central hole axis as the center.

2. The interface cone cleaning bracket for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The combined step is formed by combining at least two limiting steps, and the edges of each limiting step are connected to form a conical surface that is compatible with the interface cone.

3. The interface cone cleaning bracket for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer according to claim 2, characterized in that: The axes of the several inlets all intersect the same circumference.

4. The interface cone cleaning bracket for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer according to claim 3, characterized in that: The plurality of convection holes are located above the liquid inlet and below the limiting step, and the axes of the plurality of convection holes all intersect the same circumference.

5. The interface cone cleaning bracket for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer according to claim 4, characterized in that: The plurality of liquid inlets consists of four inlets, and the axes of the four inlets are arranged in a cross shape.

6. The interface cone cleaning bracket for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer according to claim 5, characterized in that: The number of convection holes is four, and the axes of the four convection holes are arranged in a cross shape.

7. The interface cone cleaning bracket for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer according to claim 6, characterized in that: The diameter of the central hole is 2 mm smaller than the minimum interface cone diameter, but larger than the convection hole diameter.

8. The interface cone cleaning bracket for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer according to claim 7, characterized in that: The diameter of the limiting step is 1 to 1.25 times the diameter of the interface cone; the step surface of the limiting step is higher than the convection hole.

9. The interface cone cleaning bracket for an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer according to claim 8, characterized in that: The main body of the bracket is made of corrosion-resistant PTFE.

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