Tyler Westover Email & Phone Number

Provo, Utah, United States

Spanish Fork, Utah

Hill Afb, Utah

Developed oil analysis program for industrial equipment on base.

Advisor: David C. Collins, Ph D.Detection of Herbicide Ions Using Paper Spray Ionization with a Mechanical Gate Ion Mobility SpectrometerAbstract: Paper spray ionization is a direct sampling technique used for rapid and quantitative analyses. Paper spray creates ions with a high voltage power applied to a paper triangle wetted with analyte. Coupled with ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), paper spray ionization could provide simplicity for the analysis of various compounds. This work focuses on the unique combination of paper spray with IMS and the detection of various herbicide ions. In the design, a high voltage source (e.g. 5,000 V) is connected to a triangular-shaped chromatography paper that is used for the creation and introduction of herbicide ions into the IMS. An aluminum wheel is electrically connected to the drift tube using a wire brush and two 1-MΩ resistors. Voltage (e.g. 3,500 V) is applied to the aluminum wheel and linearly decreased to ground through the drift tube. Drift times are determined employing a corona discharge of air as a trigger and measured with an oscilloscope. Temperature control rods are used to desolvate hydrated ions and a drift gas (e.g. nitrogen gas) is applied counter to the ion flow to help resolve ion peaks. Future work will include alteration to the aluminum-wheel-ion-entrance orifice for improved peak shape.

Rexburg, Id

Advisor: David C. Collins, Ph D.Development of a Mechanical Gate Ion Mobility Spectrometer for the Separation of Volatile CompoundsAbstract: Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is an analytical technique used to separate and characterize gaseous ions in an electric field at atmospheric pressure. IMS’s strength is in drug and explosive detection, but is also used in other areas such as environmental monitoring. This work focuses on improving the signal-to-noise and separation of ions. In this design, an aluminum wheel is electrically connected to the drift tube using a wire brush and two 1-MΩ resistors. 8000 V is applied to the aluminum wheel and linearly decreased to ground through the drift tube. An additional high voltage source (e.g., 11,000 V) is used to both ionize the sample molecules (e.g., chloroform) and create ions to trigger the detector. Drift times for each ion are calculated from initial and final drift times observed from an oscilloscope. Temperature control rods are used to help desolvate ions. Future work will include alteration to the aluminum-wheel-ion-entrance orifice for improved peak shape.

Rexburg, Id

Advisor: David C. Collins, Ph D.Ion Detection with Faraday Cup using Ion Mobility SpectrometryAbstract. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is an analytical technique used to separate and characterize gaseous ions in an electric field at atmospheric pressure. IMS’s strength is in drug and explosive detection, but is used in other areas like environmental monitoring, pharmaceuticals, and metabolomics. This work focuses on the construction of an IMS instrument with a Faraday cup detector. The design employs a high electric potential (e.g., 5000 V) over the length of the drift tube. An additional high voltage source (e.g., 7500 V) is used to create ions outside of the drift region. The drift tube is composed of seventeen stainless steel drift rings separated by ceramic spacers and electrically connected with 1 megaohm high-voltage resistors. An oscilloscope is used to detect current produced by ions striking the Faraday cup. In future work, the drift tube will be temperature controlled, flushed with nitrogen gas, and ion gated.

Bachelor'S Degree, Chemistry

Activities and Societies: American Chemical Society- BYU-Idaho Chapter Brazilian Association

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