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，将开发一种飞机版的气溶胶飞行时间质谱仪，用于快速实时分析单个颗粒的大小和化学成分。该仪器将把空气动力学粒度测量和激光解吸/电离与飞行时间质谱联用，用于成分分析。该设计将基于PI实验室中的几种现有仪器（移动的/地面的），并利用新技术来实现尺寸、重量和功耗的显着降低以及自主操作。为了使该仪器适合于飞机操作，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检测较小颗粒的效率。 该仪器将提供半定量测量飞机上单个大气颗粒的化学成分的能力。这些测量将提供关于气溶胶的来源、输送和转化以及粒子混合状态的详细信息，这是目前通过批量测量技术无法获得的信息。该项目将为本科生、研究生和博士后学生提供教育机会。

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.