Continuous measurement of elemental composition of ambient aerosol by induction-coupled plasma mass spectrometry
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Updated: Feb 19, 2026

A Practical Guide on Coupling a Scanning Mobility Sizer and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer SMPS-ICPMS
Published on: July 11, 2017
Santosh K Mishra1, Bhargab Chattopadhyay2, Akinde F Kadjo1
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Arlington, Texas 76019, USA.
Abstract:
There is presently no instrumentation that can provide (near) real time information on elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols. We describe an arrangement where air is sampled through a cyclone @30L/min with a 50% cutoff @ ~250nm. The particles deposit into a cup through which deionized water is continuously flowing. High purity HNO3 is added downstream and the mixed stream optionally flows through a quartz photo reactor (185nm, ~90°C, tR ~1.2min) and is aspirated by an induction coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). Comparative batch experiments in which samples were not photodigested at all or thermally digested off-line for an extended period indicated no statistically significant difference in the results. This observation agrees with early theoretical and experimental work. Some 22 elements were quantifiable (S/N > 10) at all times in the aerosol samples collected in our highly urban sampling location; an additional 4 elements were quantifiable at times of construction activity in the general area. Presently attained system limits of detection (LODs) are orders of magnitude higher than the instrumental LOD, both because of the purity of the acid and pump-induced contamination. These aspects can be vastly improved and will need to be improved to determine background concentrations.
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