Laser-activated membrane introduction mass spectrometry for high-throughput evaluation of bulk heterogeneous catalysts.

Laser-activated membrane introduction mass spectrometry (LAMIMS), a high-throughput screening method, evaluates heterogeneous catalysts under realistic reactor conditions. It is a precise, versatile system requiring no moving parts. The catalyst array is supported on carbon paper overlaid upon a silicone rubber membrane configured in a variation of membrane introduction mass spectrometry as introduced by Cooks. The carbon paper serves as a heat-dissipating gas diffusion layer that permits laser heating of catalyst samples far above the decomposition temperature of the polymer membrane that separates the array from the mass spectrometer vacuum chamber. A computer-controlled CO2 bar code writing laser is used for fine-tune heating of the catalyst spots above the base temperature of the LAMIMS reactor. The detailed design and performance of LAMIMS is demonstrated on arrays of "real world" bulk water-gas shift catalysts using natural and isotopically labeled reactor feed streams. A bulk catalyst array spot can be evaluated for activity and selectivity in as little as 1.5 min. All array screening results were confirmed by industrial microreactor evaluations.