Simultaneous detection of ozone and nitrogen dioxide by oxygen anion chemical ionization mass spectrometry: a fast-time-response sensor suitable for eddy covariance measurements
Abstract. We report on the development, characterization, and fielddeployment of a fast-time-response sensor for measuring ozone (O3) andnitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations utilizing chemical ionizationtime-of-flight mass spectrometry (CI-ToFMS) with oxygen anion(O2-) reagent ion chemistry. Wedemonstrate that the oxygen anion chemical ionization mass spectrometer(Ox-CIMS) is highly sensitive to both O3 (180 counts s−1 pptv−1) and NO2 (97 counts s−1 pptv−1), corresponding todetection limits (3σ, 1 s averages) of 13 and 9.9 pptv,respectively. In both cases, the detection threshold is limited by themagnitude and variability in the background determination. The short-termprecision (1 s averages) is better than 0.3 % at 10 ppbv O3 and 4 %at 10 pptv NO2. We demonstrate that the sensitivity of the O3measurement to fluctuations in ambient water vapor and carbon dioxide isnegligible for typical conditions encountered in the troposphere. Theapplication of the Ox-CIMS to the measurement of O3 vertical fluxesover the coastal ocean, via eddy covariance (EC), was tested during the summer of2018 at Scripps Pier, La Jolla, CA. The observed mean ozone depositionvelocity (vd(O3)) was 0.013 cm s−1 with a campaign ensemblelimit of detection (LOD) of 0.0027 cm s−1 at the 95 % confidencelevel, from each 27 min sampling period LOD. The campaign mean and 1standard deviation range of O3 mixing ratios was 41.2±10.1 ppbv. Several fast ozone titration events from local NO emissions weresampled where unit more »
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; ;
Award ID(s):
Publication Date:
NSF-PAR ID:
10176654
Journal Name:
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Volume:
13
Issue:
4
Page Range or eLocation-ID:
1887 to 1907
ISSN:
1867-8548
2. Abstract. Chemical ionization massspectrometry (CIMS) instruments routinely detect hundreds of oxidized organic compoundsin the atmosphere. A major limitation of these instruments is the uncertaintyin their sensitivity to many of the detected ions. We describe thedevelopment of a new high-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization massspectrometer that operates in one of two ionization modes: using eitherammonium ion ligand-switching reactions such as for ${\mathrm{NH}}_{\mathrm{4}}^{+}$ CIMS orproton transfer reactions such as for proton-transfer-reaction massspectrometer (PTR-MS). Switching between the modes can be done within 2&thinsp;min.The ${\mathrm{NH}}_{\mathrm{4}}^{+}$ CIMS mode of the new instrument has sensitivities of upto 67&thinsp;000&thinsp;dcps&thinsp;ppbv−1 (duty-cycle-corrected ion counts per second perpart per billion by volume) and detection limits between 1 and 60&thinsp;pptv at2σ for a 1&thinsp;s integration time for numerous oxygenated volatileorganic compounds. We present a mass spectrometric voltage scanning procedurebased on collision-induced dissociation that allows us to determine thestability of ammonium-organic ions detected by the ${\mathrm{NH}}_{\mathrm{4}}^{+}$more » CIMS instrument.Using this procedure, we can effectively constrain the sensitivity of theammonia chemical ionization mass spectrometer to a wide range of detectedoxidized volatile organic compounds for which no calibration standards exist.We demonstrate the application of this procedure by quantifying thecomposition of secondary organic aerosols in a series of laboratoryexperiments.