Thermal desorption single particle mass spectrometry of ambient aerosol in Shanghai.

Submicron aerosol volatility, chemical composition, and mixing state were simultaneously measured using a thermodenuder (TD) in-line with a single particle aerosol mass spectrometry (SPAMS) during Nov.12 to Dec. 11 of 2014 in Shanghai. By heating up to 250 °C, the signals of refractory species such as elemental carbon, metallic compounds, and mineral dust in aerosols were enhanced in the mass spectra. At 250 °C, the main particle types present in the size range of 0.2–1.0 μm were biomass burning (37% by number) and elemental carbon (20%). From 1.0 to 2.0 μm, biomass burning (30%), dust (19%) and metal-rich (18%) were the primary particle types. CN − signal remained in the mass spectra of the heated biomass burning particles suggests the existence of some extremely low-volatility nitrogen-containing organics. Laboratory experiments were conducted by burning rice straws, the main source material of biomass burning particles in Southern China, to confirm the less volatile composition contributed by biomass burning. Strong CN − with relative area >0.21 was observed in most of the laboratory-made biomass burning particles when heated above 200 °C and was selected as a new marker to identify the biomass burning particles in the field. The TD-SPAMS measured the size-resolved chemical composition of the individual particle residues at different temperatures and offered more information on the aging processes of primary particles and their sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]