Evaluation of open-path FTIR spectrometers for monitoring multiple chemicals in air

There has been mounting interest in the use of open-path Fourier transform infrared (OP-FTIR) spectrometers for occupational and environmental air monitoring. Although this technology is gaining acceptance in the environmental field, there has not yet been a comprehensive assessment of instrument performance and the analytical limitations of this method have not been thoroughly delineated. Unlike extractive FTIR spectrometers, calibration of OP-FTIR spectrometer systems presents unique problems because the optical beam is exposed to the atmosphere. Therefore, it is difficult to get an adequate clean background and perform evaluation tests used by extractive instruments. One solution to the problem of evaluating an open-path system is to place a sample cell directly in the path of the infrared beam. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of a specially designed external calibration cell as a tool for laboratory and field evaluation of the accuracy of OP-FTIR spectrometers and to investigate various commonly used instrument performance parameters such as root mean square (RMS) noise, return intensity, instrument precision, and detector saturation. These performance parameters were measured to see if they could be used to predict whether an instrument is operating correctly. Six instruments from the same manufacturer were evaluated with a prototype calibration cell using NIST traceable sulfur hexafluoride, n-hexane, and cyclohexane. Reference concentrations generated in the calibration cell were compared with OP-FTIR spectrometer measured concentrations measured through the cell. Excellent correlation and slopes were obtained for all three chemicals. The instrument performance measures could not be used to predict accuracy. The external calibration cell shows promise as a method of validating the operation of an OP-FTIR spectrometer for quality assurance and for quality control.