Synchrotron radiation based aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry for organic constituents.

A synchrotron radiation based aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer using tunable vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) light is described for real-time analysis of organic compounds in ultrafine and large aerosol particles. Particles are sampled from atmospheric pressure and are focused through an aerodynamic lens assembly into the mass spectrometer. As the particles enter the source region, they impinge on a cartridge heater and are vaporized. The particle vapor expands back into the source region and is softly ionized with tunable, quasicontinuous VUV light generated with synchrotron radiation. The radiation can be tuned to an energy close to the ionization energy of the sample molecules, thus minimizing the complications resulting from ion fragmentation. Photoionization efficiency scans (photon scans) can be readily collected, which permit measurement of the molecule's ionization energy and fragmentation onsets. Four high molecular weight, low vapor pressure organic compounds of importance in atmospheric aerosols are analyzed and their ionization energies measured with uncertainties of +/-60 meV. These are oleic acid (8.68 eV), linoleic acid (8.52 eV), linolenic acid (8.49 eV), and cholesterol (8.69 eV).