Articles | Volume 11, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5087-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-5087-2018
Research article
 | 
07 Sep 2018
Research article |  | 07 Sep 2018

Real-time measurements of gas-phase organic acids using SF6 chemical ionization mass spectrometry

Theodora Nah, Yi Ji, David J. Tanner, Hongyu Guo, Amy P. Sullivan, Nga Lee Ng, Rodney J. Weber, and L. Gregory Huey

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Short summary
The sources and atmospheric chemistry of gas-phase organic acids are currently poorly understood, due in part to the limited range of measurement techniques available. We evaluated the use of SF6 as a sensitive and selective chemical ionization reagent ion for real-time measurements of gas-phase organic acids at a rural site in Yorkville, Georgia. We found that ambient concentrations of organic acids ranged from a few ppt to several ppb, and are dependent on ambient temperature.