TY - JOUR
T1 - On-line analysis of ambient air aerosols using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy
AU - Carranza, J. E.
AU - Fisher, B. T.
AU - Yoder, G. D.
AU - Hahn, D. W.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported in part by the US Department of Energy and the US Department of Defense, Joint Services Demil Technology Office, in conjunction with Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA.
PY - 2001/6/29
Y1 - 2001/6/29
N2 - Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is developed for the detection of aerosols in ambient air, including quantitative mass concentration measurements and size/composition measurements of individual aerosol particles. Data are reported for ambient air aerosols containing aluminum, calcium, magnesium and sodium for a 6-week sampling period spanning the Fourth of July holiday period. Measured mass concentrations for these four elements ranged from 1.7 parts per trillion (by mass) to 1.7 parts per billion. Ambient air concentrations of magnesium and aluminum revealed significant increases during the holiday period, which are concluded to arise from the discharge of fireworks in the lower atmosphere. Real-time conditional data analysis yielded increases in analyte spectral intensity approaching 3 orders of magnitude. Analysis of single particles yielded composition-based aerosol size distributions, with measured aerosol diameters ranging from 100 nm to 2 μm. The absolute mass detection limits for single particle analysis exceeded sub-femtogram values for calcium-containing particles, and was on the order of 2-3 femtograms for magnesium and sodium-based particles. Overall, LIBS-based analysis of ambient air aerosols is a promising technique for the challenging issues associated with the real-time collection and analysis of ambient air particulate matter data.
AB - Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is developed for the detection of aerosols in ambient air, including quantitative mass concentration measurements and size/composition measurements of individual aerosol particles. Data are reported for ambient air aerosols containing aluminum, calcium, magnesium and sodium for a 6-week sampling period spanning the Fourth of July holiday period. Measured mass concentrations for these four elements ranged from 1.7 parts per trillion (by mass) to 1.7 parts per billion. Ambient air concentrations of magnesium and aluminum revealed significant increases during the holiday period, which are concluded to arise from the discharge of fireworks in the lower atmosphere. Real-time conditional data analysis yielded increases in analyte spectral intensity approaching 3 orders of magnitude. Analysis of single particles yielded composition-based aerosol size distributions, with measured aerosol diameters ranging from 100 nm to 2 μm. The absolute mass detection limits for single particle analysis exceeded sub-femtogram values for calcium-containing particles, and was on the order of 2-3 femtograms for magnesium and sodium-based particles. Overall, LIBS-based analysis of ambient air aerosols is a promising technique for the challenging issues associated with the real-time collection and analysis of ambient air particulate matter data.
KW - Aerosol
KW - Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)
KW - Particulate matter
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U2 - 10.1016/S0584-8547(01)00183-5
DO - 10.1016/S0584-8547(01)00183-5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0035967711
VL - 56
SP - 851
EP - 864
JO - Spectrochimica Acta, Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy
JF - Spectrochimica Acta, Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy
SN - 0584-8547
IS - 6
ER -