Coupling a particle-into-liquid-sampler (PILS) with Metrohm's 850 Professional IC allows quasi-continuous measurements of inorganic species in ambient air.
The combination achieves this with a temporal resolution of five to 15 minutes.
Determining anions and cations in atmospheric aerosols yields essential information concerning atmospheric transport and transformation processes.
Until now these determinations have been carried out using filters.
However, this method only allows averages to be determined over a time span of 24 hours or more.
Moreover, the results can be compromised by desorption processes and chemical transformations.
In contrast with sampling devices that rely on filters, using a PILS allows semi-continuous sampling of aerosols downstream from a denuder system.
Subsequent to the removal of interfering gas-phase species, the remaining aerosol particles are dissolved into water phase by means of supersaturated steam.
Eventually, the liquid sample is transported to the IC for analysis.
The key benefit of this method is a high temporal resolution of measurements of just five to 15 minutes.
Changes in the ionic composition of ambient air can thus be recorded almost immediately, allowing a more precise correlation with meteorological and other data.
