Characterization of oligomeric compounds in secondary organic aerosol using liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization Fourier transfor…

2009

The components of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) generated from the gas-phase ozonolysis of two C(10)H(16)-terpenes (alpha-pinene; sabinene) and a cyclic C(6)H(10) alkene (cyclohexene) were characterized by the use of a Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source operated in the negative ion mode. Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography was used to achieve chromatographic separation of highly oxidized organic compounds. In addition to the well-known group of low molecular weight oxidation products (monomers; e.g. dicarboxylic acids), higher molecular weight compounds (dimers) were also detected and their exact elemental …