Gas sampling from laboratory-scale flames with online analysis of all species by mass spectrometry is a powerful method to investigate the complex mixture of chemical compounds occurring during combustion processes. Coupled with tunable soft ionization via synchrotron-generated vacuum-ultraviolet radiation, this technique provides isomer-resolved information and potentially fragment-free mass spectra.
Hansen, N., Skeen, S. A., Michelsen, H. A., Wilson, K. R., Kohse-Höinghaus, K. Flame Experiments at the Advanced Light Source: New Insights into Soot Formation Processes. J. Vis. Exp. (87), e51369, doi:10.3791/51369 (2014).