Measurements of Atmospheric Aerosol with the Vaporization Inlet for Aerosols and the Filter Inlet for Gases and Aerosols on a Bipolar Multi-Reagent Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer

Atmospheric aerosols can be composed of a wide variety of organic and inorganic chemicals, which can dramatically affect the environmental impact of the particles. Understanding the chemical composition of aerosol assists in understanding the sources and fate of these emissions. Additionally, as volatile chemical products (VCPs) have surpassed vehicle emissions in urban areas, there is a need to understand the changing composition of urban aerosol and how it affects aerosol loadings and formation. Here, I present a simple tool called the Vaporization Inlet for Aerosols (VIA) to vaporize ambient aerosol to measure the chemical composition of the resulting gas-phase products with a time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer. The laboratory results from the VIA are compared to those obtained from the previously characterized Filter Inlet for Gases and Aerosols (FIGAERO). Both inlets have different benefits in terms of temporal resolution, gas-phase comparisons, ease of use, and long-term operation, which will be discussed. Finally, the thermal decomposition products of organic molecules in the VIA is compared to the FIGAERO to understand the chemical formulas detected by the mass spectrometer.