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Determination of stable carbon isotopes of organic acids and carbonaceous aerosols in the atmosphere
Author(s) -
Fisseha R.,
Saurer M.,
Jäggi M.,
Szidat S.,
Siegwolf R. T. W.,
Baltensperger U.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.2586
Subject(s) - chemistry , atmosphere (unit) , isotopes of carbon , environmental chemistry , carbon fibers , isotope , radiochemistry , total organic carbon , meteorology , nuclear physics , materials science , composite number , composite material , physics
A wet oxidation method for the compound‐specific determination of stable carbon isotopes ( δ 13 C) of organic acids in the gas and aerosol phase, as well as of water‐soluble organic carbon (WSOC), is presented. Sampling of the organic acids was done using a wet effluent diffusion denuder/aerosol collector (WEDD/AC) coupled to an ion chromatography (IC) system. The method allows for compound‐specific stable carbon isotope analysis by collecting different fractions of organic acids at the end of the IC system using a fraction collector. δ 13 C analyses of organic acids were conducted by oxidizing the organic acids with sodium persulfate at a temperature of 100°C and determining the δ 13 C value of the resulting carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. In addition, analysis of δ 13 C of the WSOC was performed for particulate carbon collected on aerosol filters. The WSOC was extracted from the filters using ultrapure water (MQ water), and the dissolved organic carbon was oxidized to CO 2 using the oxidation method. The wet oxidation method has an accuracy of 0.5‰ with a precision of ±0.4‰ and provides a quantitative result for organic carbon with a detection limit of 150 ng of carbon. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.