Advances And Applications Of Mass Spectral Techniques For The Characterization Of Atmospheric Aerosol Particles

Aerosol particles are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and induce significant impacts on human health and climate that depend on their physical and chemical properties, such as size, composition, and mixing state (chemical associations). Measurements of aerosol composition at the single-particle level are necessary to better understand these effects. Aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS) is able to monitor the size and chemical composition of individual particles in real time. In this doctoral research, ATOFMS analysis was extended to identify new mass spectral markers and improve the potential for quantitative measurements. Development of novel instrumentation was also undertaken. Ion markers indicative of organosulfate compounds were identified in ATOFMS mass spectra collected in Atlanta, GA. In this study, the mixing state and temporal behavior of particulate organosulfate compounds were observed for the first time. Organosulfates were overwhelmingly detected in carbonaceous submicron particles and the temporal trends indicated that they likely formed by the daytime oxidation of isoprene followed by aqueous reaction with sulfate overnight. These results highlight the roles of mixing state and multi-phase reactivity on the formation of secondary organic aerosols. ATOFMS measurements of thermally-conditioned aerosol residuals obtained during the 2005 Study of Organic Aerosols in Riverside, CA were analyzed to determine the impacts of atmospheric aging on the laser desorption/ionization process. Coatings of secondary species suppressed the ionization efficiency, thereby impacting the mass spectral peak areas; however, a novel analysis method was found to correct these artifacts and produced strong agreement with collocated quantitative instrumentation. This new analysis technique was then applied to investigate the mixing-state dependence of aerosol volatility observed in Riverside. It was observed that particulate nitrate evaporated at different temperatures from different particle types (e.g., organic vs. biomass burning), which may influence the regional transport of nitrate species. ATOFMS provides important insights into size-resolved particle sources; however it heavily fragments most organic species, resulting in loss of the molecular information. Therefore, a novel chemical ionization mass spectrometer was developed to better characterize the molecular organic aerosol constituents. In particular, an ion funnel was incorporated into a home-built proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer. Initial characterization studies and ion simulations indicated that the ion funnel can provide high-efficiency ion transfer from the ionization region to the mass spectrometer. These results demonstrate the potential for this instrument to ultimately achieve highly sensitive analyses of organic aerosols.