On-line analysis of ambient air aerosols using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is developed for the detection of aero sols in ambient air, including quantitative mass concentration measurements and size /composition measurements of individual aerosol particles. Data a re reported for ambient air aerosols containing aluminum, calcium, magnesiu m and sodium for a 6-week sampling period spanning the Fourth of July holid ay 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 con centrations of magnesium and aluminum revealed significant increases during the holiday period, which are concluded to arise from the discharge of fir eworks 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 distri butions, with measured aerosol diameters ranging from 100 nm to 2 mum. The absolute mass detection limits for single particle analysis exceeded sub-fe mtogram 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 challengi ng issues associated with the real-time collection and analysis of ambient air particulate matter data. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights rese rved.