Characterization of a New Extractive Electrospray Ionization (EESI) Source for Online Particle Analysis and its Application to Atmospheric Aerosol
F. Lopez-Hilfiker, S. Klee, TOFWERK, Thun, Switzerland
V. Pospisilova, J.G. Slowik, A.S. Prevot, U. Baltensperger, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villagen, Switzerland
Current particle measurement techniques struggle to efficiently shift analytes from the condensed phase to the gas phase for molecular analysis by mass spectrometry. Thermal desorption of aerosol components for gas phase analysis is typical in most online aerosol mass spectrometers, but thermal decomposition during desorption can significantly alter the measured molecular composition. Even instruments that utilize soft ionization techniques still rely on some type of thermal desorption to evaporate material into the gas phase for analysis, leading to unpredictable changes in particle composition due to decomposition. Therefore, there remains a fundamental need for online, rapid-response chemical characterization of particles without artifacts from thermal decomposition.
This poster from DGMS 2017 (Kiel Germany), presents the design and the characterization of an online extractive electrospray ionization (EESI) TOFMS that was recently developed in a collaboration between TOFWERK and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI).
