title: Spectroscopic Characterization of Dust-Fall Samples Collected from Greater Cairo, Egypt.
abstract: This work aimed to characterize dust-fall samples collected from street's trees in Greater Cairo (GC), Egypt, and its surroundings by different spectroscopic techniques, namely; X-ray diffraction (XRD), attenuated total-reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), particle-size analyzer, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy dispersive X-ray measurements. Samples were collected from 19 different locations inside and outside of GC. Quantitative phase analysis of the dust-fall samples was performed using the Rietveld method. Results showed that the most frequently observed phases in the dust-fall samples were calcite (CaCO3), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2), gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O), and quartz (SiO2) with average concentrations of 39 ± 16, 8 ± 7, 22 ± 13, and 33 ± 14 wt%, respectively. The occurrence of these constituents referred to a combination of different anthropogenic and natural sources. The ATR-FTIR results are in good agreements with XRD data of the different observed phases. Based on the SEM and particle-size measurements, quantitative determination of the particle-size distribution was described. It was found that not only the large-sized particles are deposited but also the small-sized ones (PM10 and PM2.5). In addition, the particle size of the collected dust-fall samples varied from 0.1 to 200 µm with an average particle size of 17.36 µm; however, the particle size ranged from 2.5 to 40 µm predominated in all of the dust-fall samples.
authors.affiliation: Spectroscopy Department, Physics Division, National Research Center, El Behooth Street, 12622, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt. shaltout_a@hotmail.com.|Faculty of Science, Taif University, P. O. Box 888, 21974, Taif, Saudi Arabia. shaltout_a@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Abdallah A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Shaltout
authors.affiliation: Spectroscopy Department, Physics Division, National Research Center, El Behooth Street, 12622, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.|Faculty of Science, Taif University, P. O. Box 888, 21974, Taif, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mousa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Allam
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, Taif University, P. O. Box 888, 21974, Taif, Saudi Arabia.|Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, 41522, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Nasser Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Mostafa
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, Taif University, P. O. Box 888, 21974, Taif, Saudi Arabia.|Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Zein K
authors.initials: ZK
authors.lastname: Heiba
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002119:Calcium Carbonate; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004534:Egypt; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008274:Magnesium; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010316:Particle Size; D011791:Quartz; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D004391:Dust; D011791:Quartz; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D002119:Calcium Carbonate; D008274:Magnesium; C028042:calcium magnesium carbonate