New Methodology for Quantifying Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Using High-Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometry

作者:Herring Courtney L; Faiola Celia L; Massoli Paola; Sueper Donna; Erickson Matthew H; McDonald Jacob D; Simpson Christopher D; Yost Michael G; Jobson B Thomas; VanReken Timothy M*
来源:Aerosol Science and Technology, 2015, 49(11): 1131-1148.
DOI:10.1080/02786826.2015.1101050

摘要

This article presents a new methodology to potentially quantify polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) isomers using high-resolution time of flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-AMS). The fragmentation of PAHs within the HR-AMS is such that significant signal remains at the molecular ion. After quantifying the molecular ion signal and taking into account potential interferences, the amount of the parent PAH in the aerosol may be inferred once its fragmentation pattern is also known. The potential of this approach was evaluated using mixed gasoline and diesel engine exhaust sampled under varying conditions. This dataset led to the identification and quantification within the aerosol mass spectra of the molecular ions associated with 53 PAH isomers, including both unsubstituted and functionalized species. An evaluation of anticipated interferences shows that interferences from larger molecular weight PAHs (i.e., PAH/PAH interferences) could be constrained based on the fragmentation behavior of PAHs from existing HR-AMS laboratory spectra. Other signal interferences for this data set are typically less than 5% of the total signal or, for C-13 isotopic interferents, are well constrained by measurements of the dominant isotope. The experimental data reveal that the fractional PAH molecular ion signal remained stable despite dramatic temporal variability of the total particulate organic signal. The fractional contributions of the molecular ions for grouped PAH species and even individual compounds were remarkably consistent across experiments. The distribution of PAHs showed no apparent dependence on engine load or exhaust type. Full application of this approach will require a greater number of standard HR-AMS spectra for PAHs, so that the relationship between compounds and their molecular ions may be understood more precisely.

  • 出版日期2015-11-2