ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Detection of peroxyacetyl nitrate in air using chemiluminescence aerosol detector

Pavel Mikuška, Lukáš Bružeňák, and Zbyněk Večeřa

Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i., Veveří 97, CZ-60200, Brno, Czech Republic

E-mail: mikuska@iach.cz

Abstract: A method for the rapid and sensitive determination of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) in air based on a chemiluminescence reaction with an alkaline solution of luminol in the chemiluminescence aerosol detector is described. The PAN is chromatographically separated from nitrogen dioxide and ozone in a packed column filled with 5 % OV-1 on Chromosorb 30/60 and the eluted PAN is detected via the direct reaction with the luminol solution consisting of 0.002 mol L⁻¹ luminol, 1 vol. % Brij-35 and 0.1 mol L⁻¹ KOH. The limit of detection is 14.9 ng m⁻³ (3 ppt) of PAN. Alternatively, the PAN after separation is thermally converted to NO₂ which is detected by the chemiluminescence reaction with a solution consisting of 0.002 mol L⁻¹ luminol, 0.5 mol L⁻¹ KOH, 0.2 mol L⁻¹ Na₂SO₃, 0.1 mol L⁻¹ KI, 0.05 mol L⁻¹ EDTA and 0.5 vol. % triton X-100. The alternative approach affords the simultaneous determination of PAN and NO₂. The limit of detection is 50 ppt of PAN and 50 ppt of NO₂. The time resolution is 3 min. The method was applied to the measurement of ambient peroxyacetyl nitrate in air.

Keywords: peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) – chemiluminescence – air

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-014-0607-x

Chemical Papers 68 (11) 1482–1490 (2014)