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Online wet oxidation/isotope ratio mass spectrometry method for determination of stable carbon isotope ratios of water‐soluble organic carbon in particulate matter
Author(s) -
Suto Nana,
Kawashima Hiroto
Publication year - 2018
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.8240
Subject(s) - levoglucosan , chemistry , particulates , isotope ratio mass spectrometry , environmental chemistry , total organic carbon , carbon fibers , isotopes of carbon , detection limit , isotope , mass spectrometry , isotope analysis , organic matter , analytical chemistry (journal) , aerosol , chromatography , biomass burning , organic chemistry , ecology , materials science , physics , quantum mechanics , composite number , composite material , biology
Rationale Water‐soluble organic carbon (WSOC) is formed by oxidation of organic compounds in particulate matter (PM) and accounts for 25–80% of the organic carbon in PM. Stable carbon isotope ratio (δ 13 C) analysis is widely used to identify the sources of PM, but determining the δ 13 C values of WSOC is complicated and requires a time‐consuming pretreatment process. Methods We have developed an online wet oxidation/isotope ratio mass spectrometry method with a reduced pretreatment time. We have measured the δ 13 C values of WSOC by using this method. Results The method showed high accuracy (0.1‰) and precision (0.1‰) for levoglucosan, and the limit of detection was sufficiently low for WSOC analysis. Using this method, we determined δ 13 C values of WSOC in PM 2.5 samples collected in Japan during the period from July to November 2017 and found that the values ranged from −26.5‰ to −25.0‰ (average, −25.8‰). Conclusions Our simple, low‐blank method could be used for rapid quantitative analysis of the δ 13 C values of WSOC in PM 2.5 . We propose that this online method be used as a standard method for δ 13 C analysis of WSOC.