Development of an Aircraft Aerosol Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ATOFMS) for Rapid Measurement of Aerosol Size and Composition

在这个项目中，将开发一种飞机版本的气溶胶飞行时间质谱仪(ATOFMS)，用于快速实时分析单个颗粒的尺寸和化学成分。该仪器将空气动力学颗粒测量和激光解吸/电离与飞行时间质谱仪相结合，用于成分分析。该设计将基于PI实验室中的几个现有仪器(移动/地面)，并利用新技术来显著降低尺寸、重量和功耗，并实现自主操作。为了使该仪器适用于飞机操作，将设计一个新的接口，以提高采样效率和更高的时间分辨率。其他修改将旨在提高探测较小颗粒的效率。该仪器将提供半定量测量飞机各个大气颗粒物的化学成分的能力。这些测量将提供有关气溶胶的来源、传输和转化以及颗粒混合状态的详细信息，这些信息目前无法通过批量测量技术获得。该项目将为本科生、研究生和博士后提供教育机会。

In this project, an aircraft version of an aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS) for fast real-time analysis of individual particle size and chemical composition will be developed. The instrument will couple aerodynamic particle sizing and laser desorption/ionization with time-of-flight mass spectrometry for composition analysis. The design will be based on several existing instruments in the PI's laboratory (mobile/ground based) and take advantage of new technologies to achieve significant reductions in size, weight, and power consumption, and autonomous operation. In order to make the instrument suitable for aircraft operation, a new interface will be designed for increased sampling efficiency and higher temporal resolution. Other modifications will be aimed at improving the efficiency of detecting smaller particles. This instrument will provide the ability to measure, semi-quantitatively, the chemical composition of individual atmospheric particles from aircraft. These measurements will provide detailed information on the sources, transport, and transformation of aerosols and on the particle mixing state, which is information currently inaccessible from bulk measurement techniques. The project will provide educational opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students.