title: Characterization of oligomeric compounds in secondary organic aerosol using liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.
abstract: The components of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) generated from the gas-phase ozonolysis of two C(10)H(16)-terpenes (alpha-pinene; sabinene) and a cyclic C(6)H(10) alkene (cyclohexene) were characterized by the use of a Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source operated in the negative ion mode. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography was used to achieve chromatographic separation of highly oxidized organic compounds. In addition to the well-known group of low molecular weight oxidation products (monomers; e.g. dicarboxylic acids), higher molecular weight compounds (dimers) were also detected and their exact elemental compositions were determined. In order to provide additional information for the structural elucidation of these compounds, collision-induced dissociation was applied. Based on the MS/MS spectra, two higher molecular weight products are proposed to be an ester and a peroxide. Molecular formulae calculated from the exact masses show that the SOA-compounds are heavily oxidized and this information creates the background to a discussion of potential reaction pathways for the formation of higher molecular weight compounds.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Anorganische Chemie und Analytische Chemie der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, D-55099 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Marc-Christopher
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Reinnig
authors.forename: Heiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hayen
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols; D000081008:Bicyclic Monoterpenes; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D053138:Cyclohexenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D039821:Monoterpenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000379:methods*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000081008:Bicyclic Monoterpenes; D053138:Cyclohexenes; D039821:Monoterpenes; C052568:cyclohexene; C035127:sabinene; C005451:alpha-pinene