title: Real-Time Analysis of Ambient Organic Aerosols Using Aerosol Flowing Atmospheric-Pressure Afterglow Mass Spectrometry (AeroFAPA-MS).
abstract: Organic compounds contribute to a major fraction of atmospheric aerosols and have significant impacts on climate and human health. However, because of their chemical complexity, their measurement remains a major challenge for analytical instrumentation. Here we present the development and characterization of a new soft ionization technique that allows mass spectrometric real-time detection of organic compounds in aerosols. The aerosol flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (AeroFAPA) ion source is based on a helium glow discharge plasma, which generates excited helium species and primary reagent ions. Ionization of the analytes occurs in the afterglow region after thermal desorption and produces mainly intact quasimolecular ions, facilitating the interpretation of the acquired mass spectra. We illustrate that changes in aerosol composition and concentration are detected on the time scale of seconds and in the ng m(-3) range. Additionally, the successful application of AeroFAPA-MS during a field study in a mixed forest region is presented. In general, the observed compounds are in agreement with previous offline studies; however, the acquisition of chemical information and compound identification is much faster. The results demonstrate that AeroFAPA-MS is a suitable tool for organic aerosol analysis and reveal the potential of this technique to enable new insights into aerosol formation, growth, and transformation in the atmosphere.
authors: †Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Brüggemann
authors: †Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, 55128 Mainz, Germany.|‡College of Physical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB243UE, United Kingdom.
authors: Einar
authors: E
authors: Karu
authors: †Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors: Torsten
authors: T
authors: Stelzer
authors: †Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors: Thorsten
authors: T
authors: Hoffmann
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D001274:Atmospheric Pressure; D003199:Computer Systems; D006801:Humans; D007477:Ions; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D007477:Ions; D009930:Organic Chemicals