Characterization of the Vaporization Inlet for Aerosols (VIA) for online measurements of particulate highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs)

Abstract 3 -CIMS), but a thorough understanding of the VIA–NO3 -CIMS system remains incomplete. In this work, we ran a series of tests to assess the impacts from different systems and sampling parameters on the detection efficiency of highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) in the VIA–NO3 -CIMS system. Firstly, we found that the current VIA system (which includes an activated carbon denuder and a vaporization tube) efficiently transmits particles (> > 3 -CIMS, we were able to greatly decrease wall losses and thus improve the sensitivity compared to our earlier VIA work. This interface included a dedicated sheath flow unit to cool the heated sample and provide the NO3 -CIMS with the needed high flow (10 L min- 1). Our results indicate that most organic molecules observable by the NO3 -CIMS can evaporate and be transported efficiently in the VIA system, but upon contact with the hot walls of the VIA, the molecules are instantaneously lost. This loss potentially leads to fragmentation products that are not observable by the NO3 -CIMS. Thermograms, obtained by scanning the VIA temperature, were found to be very valuable for both quantification purposes and for estimating the volatility of the evaporating compounds. We developed a simple one-dimensional model to account for the evaporation of particles and the temperature-dependent wall losses of the evaporated molecules, and we thereby estimate the concentration of HOMs in secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particles. Overall, our results provide much-needed insights into the key processes underlying the VIA–NO3 -CIMS method. Although there are still some limitations that could be addressed through hardware improvements, the VIA–NO3 -CIMS system is a very promising and useful system for fast online measurements of HOMs in the particle phase.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Characterization of the Vaporization Inlet for Aerosols (VIA) for online measurements of particulate highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) ; volume:17 ; number:5 ; year:2024 ; pages:1527-1543 ; extent:17 ; Atmospheric measurement techniques ; 17, Heft 5 (2024), 1527-1543 (gesamt 17)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Zhao, Jian ; Mickwitz, Valter ; Luo, Yuanyuan ; Häkkinen, Ella ; Graeffe, Frans ; Zhang, Jiangyi ; Timonen, Hilkka ; Canagaratna, Manjula ; Krechmer, Jordan ; Zhang, Qi ; Kulmala, Markku ; Kangasluoma, Juha ; Worsnop, Douglas ; Ehn, Mikael

Further information

• DOI: 10.5194/amt-17-1527-2024
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2024031403154950650605
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 14.08.2025, 10:46 AM CEST