NSF Award
1920361
This Major Research Instrumentation project will focus on the development of a device to automatically collect and extract organic aerosols from the ambient atmosphere. The system will be compared with conventional samplers in the laboratory and during field sampling campaigns. Automated low-cost aerosol sampling devices are needed for chemical characterization of ambient air pollution.<br/><br/>The key features of the instrument will be: (1) reduction of sampling and decomposition artifacts characteristic of filter-based and thermal desorption instruments; (2) a combination of a small particle deposit area with ultra-low solvent volumes, of the order of a microliter, that allows the device to achieve high time resolution and sensitivity; (3) solvent extraction that preserves the chemical composition of the sample; (4) the extraction efficiency is enhanced by using elevated solvent temperature and pressure; and (5) the flexibility of use, as it can be used for off-line collection or coupled to an online instrument.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
