Trace metals in ambient air.  Hourly size-segregated mass concentrations determined by synchrotron-XRF

Trace metals are ubiquitous in urban ambient air, with mass concentrations in the range of a few μg/m³ down to less than 100 pg/m³. To measure such low concentrations represents a challenge for chemical and physical analysis. In this study, ambient aerosol was collected in Zürich (Switzerland) in 1-h intervals and three size fractions (aerodynamic diameters 0.1−1 μm, 1−2.5 μm, and 2.5−10 μm), using a three-stage rotating drum impactor (RDI). The samples were analyzed by energy-dispersive Synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (SR-XRF) to obtain size-segregated hourly elemental aerosol mass concentrations for Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Br, and Pb, along with S, Cl, and Ca under the selected experimental conditions. The high sensitivity of SR-XRF allowed for detection limits of <50 pg/m³ for most of the above elements, with a net analysis time of only 15 s per sample. The data obtained with this technique illustrate that there is a considerable gain of relevant information when time resolution for measurements is increased from 1 day to 1 h. The individual size fractions of a specific element may show significantly different short-term patterns.

Schlagwörter

Fachgebiet (DDC)

610 - Medizin und Gesundheit
550 - Geowissenschaften

Projekt

Veranstaltung

Startdatum der Ausstellung

Enddatum der Ausstellung

Startdatum der Konferenz

Enddatum der Konferenz

Datum der letzten Prüfung

ISBN

ISSN

0013-936X
1520-5851

Sprache

Englisch

Während FHNW Zugehörigkeit erstellt

Nein

Zukunftsfelder FHNW

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Begutachtung

Peer-Review der ganzen Publikation

Open Access-Status

Closed

Lizenz

Zitation

BUKOWIECKI, Nicolas, Matthias HILL, Robert GEHRIG, Christoph N. ZWICKY, Peter LIENEMANN, Ferenc HEGEDÜS, Gerald FALKENBERG, Ernest WEINGARTNER und Urs BALTENSPERGER, 2005. Trace metals in ambient air. Hourly size-segregated mass concentrations determined by synchrotron-XRF. Environmental Science & Technology. 28 Juni 2005. Bd. 39, Nr. 15, S. 5754–5762. DOI 10.1021/es048089m. Verfügbar unter: https://irf.fhnw.ch/handle/11654/46764

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