Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons extracted from air particulate matter using a temperature programmable injector coupled to GC–C–IRMS†

Compound specific isotopic analysis (CSIA) can provide information about the origin of analysed compounds – in this case, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In the study, PAHs were extracted from three dust samples: winter and summer filter dust and tunnel dust. The measurement was performed using the method validated in our laboratory using pure, solid compounds and EPA 610 reference assortment.

CSIA required an appropriate clean-up method to avoid an unresolved complex in the gas chromatographic analysis usually found in the chromatography of PAHs. Extensive sample clean-up for this particular matrix was found to be necessary to obtain good gas chromatography–combustion–isotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis results. The sample purification method included two steps in which the sample is cleaned up and the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons are separated.

The concentration of PAHs in the measured samples was low; so a large volume injection technique (100 μl) was applied. The δ_VPDB ¹³C was measured with a final uncertainty smaller than 1 ‰. Comparison of the δ_VPDB ¹³C signatures of PAHs extracted from different dust samples was feasible with this method and, doing so, significant differences were observed.     

Formation of Si-nanoparticles in a microwave reactor: Comparison between experiments and modelling

The formation and growth of silicon-nanoparticles from silane in a microwave reactor was investigated. Experiments were performed for the following conditions: precursor concentration 380–2530 ppm, pressures of 20–30 mbar, microwave powers 120–300 W. The formed particles were examined in-situ with a particle mass spectrometer. Additionally, particles were collected on grids and analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and by determining the specific surface area by BET. The particle size was found to be in the range of 5–8 nm in diameter. A simple model was used to simulate the particle formation processes taking place inside the reactor. The microwave energy coupled into the reactor flow was treated as a spatially distributed energy source resulting in a local temperature increase. The particles were assumed to have a monodisperse size distribution. To allow an approximation of their shape they were characterized by their volume and surface area. The model takes nucleation, convection, coagulation, and coalescence into account. The fluid flow inside the microwave reactor was simulated with the commercial CFD-code Fluent.     

Suppressed Particle Formation by Kinetically Controlled Ozone Removal: Revealing the Role of Transient‐Species Chemistry during Alkene Ozonolysis

The new approach of kinetically controlled ozone removal suppresses particle formation in laboratory ozonolysis experiments for methylcyclohexene and methylenecyclohexane (MCHa) at excess alkene concentrations (see graph). The results support the hypothesis that peroxy radicals are involved in organic nucleation and particle‐growth mechanisms.

     

滤膜冷凝收集-离子色谱法测定固液气溶胶中5种水溶性阴离子北大核心CSCD

水溶性离子是固、液气溶胶的重要组成部分,对于气溶胶的理化性质和空气质量具有重大影响,研究水溶性离子的含量对于大气环境的污染与防治具有深远意义。该研究建立了一种滤膜冷凝收集-离子色谱技术采集固体气溶胶和液体气溶胶并测定其中的5种水溶性阴离子(Cl^(-)、F^(-)、NO^(-)_(3)、NO2^(-)、SO4^(2-))含量的方法。首先,采用固体颗粒过滤器和冷凝收集法分别收集固体气溶胶和液体气溶胶,固体气溶胶以固体颗粒物的形式被收集在固体颗粒过滤器内,液体气溶胶以冷凝液的形式在冷阱中被收集。其次,以离子色谱法对固、液体气溶胶中的水溶性阴离子含量进行检测。在以Dionex IonPac AS11-HC-4μm作为分析柱,流速为1 mL/min,柱温为30℃,淋洗液氢氧化钾(KOH)浓度在0~40 min内由1 mol/L线性增至25 mol/L,进样量100μL的条件下,各离子在40 min内有效分离,5种阴离子在0.1~10 mg/L范围内线性关系良好(相关系数为0.9992~0.9997),检出限低(0.02~0.04 mg/L)。对样品采集条件(采样时间、采样温度和采样流量)进行了优化,结果表明,在采样时间2 h、采样温度-13℃、采样流量1.0 L/min的条件下,可获得较为满意的结果。在优化的条件下分别对实际样品的两类溶胶中的5种阴离子含量进行了检测,测得实际样品的液体气溶胶中5种阴离子含量分别为5.7402μg/m^(3)(F^(-))、1.1599μg/m^(3)(Cl^(-))、3.3233μg/m^(3)(NO^(-)_(2))、2.4861μg/m^(3)(NO^(-)_(3))和0.9745μg/m^(3)(SO^(2-)_(4)),固体气溶胶中5种阴离子含量分别为14.1037μg/m^(3)(F^(-))、5.0398μg/m^(3)(Cl^(-))、9.3052μg/m^(3)(NO^(-)_(2))、8.4528μg/m^(3)(NO^(-)_(3))和5.6314μg/m^(3)(SO^(2-)_(4))。该方法可应用于实际的大气检测中,也为其他离子的采集和分析条件的摸索提供了方法。     

Determination Of Formaldehyde And Acetaldehyde Associated To Atmospheric Aerosols By HPLC

Abstract

A rapid new analytical protocol was developed for the determination of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde associated to atmospheric particulate matter, at ng/m³ levels. The aerosols were collected on glass fiber filters (8″×10″) at face velocities ranging from 15 m/min to 23 m/min. Aliquots of 15.4 cm² were sonicated, for 20 min, with 5.0 mL of 0,01% 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH), 1 % phosphoric acid. The liquid phase was then filtered and the separation and quantification of the corresponding 2,4-dinitrophenylhidrazone (DNPHo) derivatives carried out by reverse phase HPLC. Acetonitrile:water (57:43, v/v) as mobile phase at 1.0 mL/min and absorbance detection at 350 nm and 365 nm for, respectively, formaldehyde-DNPHo (0.04 AUFS) and acetaldehyde-DNPHo (0.01 AUFS) were used. The precision for four different aliquots, from a 8″×10″ glass fiber filter, were under 0.04% for formaldehyde and 14.16 % for acetaldehyde. In Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were determined, respectively, in the range of 6.8 ng/m³ to 27.3 ng/m³ and 9.1 ng/m³ to 54.6 ng/m³.     

Vapor-particle partitioning of hydrocarbons in Western Mediterranean urban and marine atmospheres

An analytical procedure is described for a comprehensive determination of the composition of hydrocarbons in the atmosphere, based on: (a) aerosol filtration and subsequent adsorption of the vapor phase onto active charcoal and polyurethane foam; (b) GPC and HPLC fractionation of the extracts, and (c) analysis of the fractions by GC-MS under EI and NICI modes. Special emphasis is placed onn-alkanes, PAHs and their oxygenated derivatives.The characterization of samples collected in a coastal urban area (Barcelona city), and far away over the Western Mediterranean, at sea level and at 1100 m of altitude, revealed significant changes in the aerosol composition, mainly attributed to initial vapor-particle partitioning processes, influenced by ambient temperature variations, and to others taking place during long-range atmospheric transport, related with the different compound photoreactivities and with an unexplained source-decoupling phenomenon.     

Determination of trace elements in ambient aerosol samples

A microwave-assisted digestion procedure using HNO₃, HF, and H₂O₂ has been developed for analysis of elements in ambient particulate matter (PM). The samples are collected on cellulose filters and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The ICP-MS is calibrated with external standards, and recovery of analytes is tested with NIST SRM 1648 Urban Dust. This method has been used to quantify the airborne concentrations of a large number of elements, including Ag, As, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Se, Sb, Sr, Ti, Tl, V, and Zn. For the majority of these elements, recovery of the NIST SRM is within 15% of the certified values.     

Plasmonic Hotspots in Air: An Omnidirectional Three‐Dimensional Platform for Stand‐Off In‐Air SERS Sensing of Airborne Species

Molecular‐level airborne sensing is critical for early prevention of disasters, diseases, and terrorism. Currently, most 2D surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates used for air sensing have only one functional surface and exhibit poor SERS‐active depth. “Aerosolized plasmonic colloidosomes” (APCs) are introduced as airborne plasmonic hotspots for direct in‐air SERS measurements. APCs function as a macroscale 3D and omnidirectional plasmonic cloud that receives laser irradiation and emits signals in all directions. Importantly, it brings about an effective plasmonic hotspot in a length scale of approximately 2.3 cm, which affords 100‐fold higher tolerance to laser misalignment along the z‐axis compared with 2D SERS substrates. APCs exhibit an extraordinary omnidirectional property and demonstrate consistent SERS performance that is independent of the laser and analyte introductory pathway. Furthermore, the first in‐air SERS detection is demonstrated in stand‐off conditions at a distance of 200 cm, highlighting the applicability of 3D omnidirectional plasmonic clouds for remote airborne sensing in threatening or inaccessible areas.     

Mixing state of individual carbonaceous particles during a severe haze episode in January 2013, Nanjing,China

Chemical composition, hourly counts, and sizes of atmospheric carbonaceous particles were measured to investigate their mixing state on clear and hazy days. 623,122 carbonaceous particles with sizes 0.2–2.0 μm was analyzed using a single-particle aerosol mass spectrometer from 1st to 17th January 2013. Particle types included biomass/biofuel burning particles (biomass), element carbon (EC-dominant) particles that were also mixed with biomass/biofuel burning species (EC-biomass) or secondary species (EC-secondary), organic carbon (OC), internally mixed OC and EC (OCEC), ammonium-containing (ammonium) and sodium-containing (sodium) particles. On clear days the top ranked carbonaceous particle types were biomass (48.2%), EC-biomass (15.7%), OCEC (11.1%), and sodium (9.6%), while on hazy days they were biomass (37.3%), EC-biomass (17.6%), EC-secondary (16.6%), and sodium (12.7%). The fractions of EC-secondary, ammonium (10%), and sodium particle types were elevated on hazy days. Numbers of EC-secondary particles were more than four times those on clear days (4.1%). Thus, carbonaceous particles mixed with ammonium, nitrate and sulfate during aging and transport, enhancing their light extinction effects and hygroscopic growth under high relative humidity on hazy days, further reducing visibility. Our real-time single-particle data showed that changes to mixing state had a significant impact on light extinction during haze events in Nanjing.     

Evolution of planetary boundary layer under different weather conditions,and its impact on aerosol concentrations

A field experiment was conducted in Tianjin,China from September 9-30,2010,focused on the evolution of Planetary Boundary Layer（PBL） and its impact on surface air pollutants.The experiment used three remote sensing instruments,wind profile radar（WPR）,microwave radiometer（MWR） and micro-pulse lidar（MPL）,to detect the vertical profiles of winds,temperature,and aerosol backscattering coefficient and to measure the vertical profiles of surface pollutants（aerosol,CO,SO₂,NO_x）,and also collected sonic anemometers data from a 255-m meteorological tower.Based on these measurements,the evolution of the PBL was estimated.The averaged PBL height was about 1000-1300 m during noon/afternoon-time, and 200-300 m during night-time.The PBL height and the aerosol concentrations were anti-correlated during clear and haze conditions.The averaged maximum PBL heights were 1.08 and 1.70 km while the averaged aerosol concentrations were 52 and 17μg/m³ under haze and clear sky conditions,respectively. The influence of aerosols and clouds on solar radiation was observed based on sonic anemometers data collected from the 255-m meteorological tower.The heat flux was found significantly decreased by haze （heavy pollution） or cloud,which tended to depress the development of PBL,while the repressed structure of PBL further weakened the diffusion of pollutants,leading to heavy pollution.This possible positive feedback cycle（more aerosols→lower PBL height→more aerosols） would induce an acceleration process for heavy ground pollution in megacities.