A high-transmission axial ion mobility classifier for mass–mobility measurements of atmospheric ions

Leiminger, Markus; Fischer, Lukas; Brilke, Sophia; Resch, Julian; Winkler, Paul Martin; Hansel, Armin; Steiner, Gerhard

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3705-2022

Articles | Volume 15, issue 12

https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3705-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3705-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 15, issue 12

Research article

|

21 Jun 2022

Research article |

| 21 Jun 2022

A high-transmission axial ion mobility classifier for mass–mobility measurements of atmospheric ions

Markus Leiminger, Lukas Fischer, Sophia Brilke, Julian Resch, Paul Martin Winkler, Armin Hansel, and Gerhard Steiner

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Final revised paper (published on 21 Jun 2022)
Supplement to the final revised paper
Preprint (discussion started on 04 Mar 2022)
Supplement to the preprint

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

RC1:
'Comment on amt-2022-29', Anonymous Referee #1, 10 Apr 2022

Leiminger et al. designed the axial ion mobility classifier (AMC). The instrument was characterized by laboratory experiments using Tetraheptylammonium bromide (THAB) and Tetrapropylammonium iodide (TPPAI) clusters that were generated using the electrospray ionization technique. The instrument was also connected with an atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometer for measuring atmospheric ion clusters. The study technical sounds. The reviewer personally looking forward to seeing future applications of the technique to laboratory and field studies.

The manuscript contains some grammatical errors. In addition, contents can be better organized. I suggest the authors to consult a professional editing service for improving the quality of the manuscript.

Comments

L132: ‘The sheath flow is recirculated via a brushless blower (model code: 465.3.265-841) from Domel, Slovenia, at experimentally determined flow rates of approximately 50 to 115 L/min.’

I was confused by this expression, as the sheath flow rate is obviously an important parameter for the AMC. Detailed descriptions about the measurement and control of the sheath flow would be needed.

Figure S1

It seems that the values for y-axis (e.g., fraction of THAB 3er (-)) are occasionally smaller than zero. I am wondering how the data were measured/analyzed.

L257: ‘Fig. 5 panels C and D.’

Figure 6?

L268: ‘We attributed the reason for this initial increase in transmission to the combined effect of sub-isokinetic sampling in the region of the core sampling and elevated electric fields

that might reach into the core sampling as is exemplarily illustrated in Fig. S5.’

L293: ‘The results of the sizing resolution in relation to the ratio Q total /Q ae are shown in the lower panels of Fig. 7.’

How was the resolution defined? It needs to be explicitly explained.

Figure 8

Figure caption/legend does not tell what the dashed lines are. They need to be updated.

Figure 9

x-axis of the upper panel is hidden by the lower panel. It needs to be modified.

Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-29-RC1
- AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Markus Sebastian Leiminger, 10 May 2022
  
  Please find our reply to RC1 in the attached document.
  
  Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-29-AC1
RC2:
'Comment on amt-2022-29', Anonymous Referee #2, 16 Apr 2022

Review attached

Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-29-RC2
- AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Markus Sebastian Leiminger, 10 May 2022
  
  Please find our reply to RC1 in the attached document.
  
  Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2022-29-AC2

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload

AR by Markus Sebastian Leiminger on behalf of the Authors (20 May 2022) Author's response Author's tracked changes Manuscript

ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (25 May 2022) by Yoshiteru Iinuma

AR by Markus Sebastian Leiminger on behalf of the Authors (26 May 2022) Manuscript

Short summary

We developed an axial ion mobility classifier coupled to an atmospheric-pressure interface time-of-flight (APi-TOF) mass spectrometer to measure size-segregated atmospheric ions. We characterize the performance of the novel instrument with bipolar-electrospray-generated ion mobility standards and compare the results with CFD simulations and a simplified numerical particle-tracking model. Ultimately, we report first mass–mobility measurements of atmospheric ions in Innsbruck, Austria.