Emission of Alkali Halide Cluster Ions from the Charged Droplets Generated from Electrospray Ionization

In this study, the formation and emission of alkali halide cluster ions in charged droplets generated by electrospray ionization (ESI) was investigated using mass spectrometry (MS). We focus on ion emission at the air-solution interface of charged droplets, distinguishing between two mechanisms: the ion evaporation model (IEM), where ions are released directly from the interface, and the charge residue model (CRM), where ions are generated after complete solvent evaporation. Using an iodide/chloride mixture, we analyzed how interfacial affinity influences the composition of the generated alkali halide cluster cations and anions. With the knowledge that iodides have much higher interfacial affinities than chlorides, a relative faction of iodide in the cluster ion enables us to distinguish between IEM and CRM. Small cluster anions and cations exclusively containing iodides are suggested to be from IEM, while the larger cluster ions containing more chlorides are expected to be from CRM. This work clarifies the distinctions between IEM and CRM in alkali halide cluster ion formation and also establishes a robust analytical approach for assessing interfacial affinities of ions using ESI-MS, which may potentially enhance our understanding of interfacial chemistry and its implications in atmospheric and analytical sciences.