A new cascade impactor for aerosol sampling with subsequent PIXE analysis

W. Maenhaut, R. Hillamo, T. Mäkelä, J. L. Jaffrezo, M. H. Bergin, C. I. Davidson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

117 Scopus citations

Abstract

A small deposit area low pressure impactor (abbreviated to SDI) has been developed and tested. The device has been designed specifically to collect size-fractionated aerosol samples in remote locations for subsequent chemical analysis by PIXE. The SDI is a 12-stage, multinozzle device, but the deposit for each stage remains confined to an area with diameter less than 8 mm. It operates at a flow rate of 11 L/min and accepts the same, 25 mm diameter substrate rings as the PIXE International cascade impactor. The experimental cut-points for stages 12 through 1 are 8.50, 4.08, 2.68, 1.66, 1.06, 0.796, 0.591, 0.343, 0.231, 0.153, 0.086 and 0.045 μm equivalent aerodynamic diameter. The SDI has been tested in (and employed for) size-fractionated aerosol sampling in the Finnish Arctic and at Summit in Greenland. The data show that the SDI gives results very similar to those obtained with the PIXE International impactor, but with detection limits that are much lower. This suggests that the SDI can be used with shorter sampling times or in areas where concentrations are smaller to obtain reliable size distribution data. The results also suggest that data for a greater number of elements can be obtained with the SDI.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)482-487
Number of pages6
JournalNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
Volume109-110
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1996
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics
  • Instrumentation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A new cascade impactor for aerosol sampling with subsequent PIXE analysis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this