MRI Track 1: Acquisition of a Dual-Reagent Chemical Ion Mass Spectrometer for Direct and Detailed Measurements of Atmospheric Chemical Fluxes

在这个主要研究仪器（MRI）项目中，研究人员将在明尼苏达大学双城分校获得一个新的共享的多用户仪器。该仪器将使项目小组能够对各种化合物的浓度和通量进行新的观察，这将增强他们研究城市空气污染、氮循环、室内和室外空气质量、植物-微生物相互作用以及地表与大气之间的化学交换的能力。该仪器将用于培养新一代的科学家和实验人员，包括研究生和本科生。此外，该工具将使包括一系列外联活动在内的研究项目成为可能，其中包括与明尼苏达大学城市外联参与中心的伙伴关系。该仪器是一台具有高分辨率飞行时间检测的双试剂化学电离质谱仪，特别是Aerodyne Vocus 2R CI-TOF，其独特之处在于它是唯一可以同时使用水合氢离子和碘试剂离子进行现场测量的仪器。CI-TOF将实现广泛的化学观测覆盖范围，并将由具有广泛职业水平和研究项目的多学科研究团队使用。该仪器的获取将解决四个关键问题：(1)城市挥发性有机化合物通量对空气质量的影响；(2)中西部农业地区大气中活性氮的循环与归宿；(3)光催化和电离净化技术对室内空气质量的影响；(4)挥发性有机物对植物-微生物相互作用和植物生长的中介作用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In this Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) project, the investigators will acquire a new shared, multi-user instrument at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. This instrument will enable new observations of both concentrations and fluxes of a wide variety of chemical compounds by the project team, which will enhance their ability to study urban air pollution, nitrogen cycling, indoor and outdoor air quality, plant-microbe interactions, and chemical exchange between surfaces and the atmosphere. This instrument will be used to train a new generation of scientists and experimentalists including graduate and undergraduate students. Additionally, the instrument will enable research projects that include a range of outreach activities including a partnership with the University of Minnesota Urban Outreach-Engagement Center.The instrument to be acquired is a dual-reagent chemical ionization mass spectrometer with high-resolution time-of-flight detection, specifically an Aerodyne Vocus 2R CI-TOF, which is unique in that it is the only instrument that can take field measurements with both hydronium and iodine reagent ions. The CI-TOF will enable a broad range of chemical observational coverage and will be used by a multidisciplinary research team with a broad range of career levels and research projects. There are four key issues that this instrument acquisition will address: (1) the air quality effects of urban fluxes of volatile organic compounds; (2) the cycling and fate of reactive nitrogen in the atmosphere of the agricultural Midwest; (3) the indoor air quality impacts of photocatalytic and ionization purification technologies; and (4) the volatile organic compound mediation of plant-microbe interactions and plant growth.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.