Improved atmospheric trace gas measurements with an aircraft‐based tandem mass spectrometer: Ion identification by mass‐selected fragmentation studies

Abstract

We have built and employed an aircraft‐borne triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (TQMS) for fragmentation studies of mass‐selected ions in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The fragmentation studies included both ambient and artificially produced ions relevant for the measurement of atmospheric trace gases by ion molecule reaction mass spectrometry (IMRMS) and led to an unambiguous identification of the chemical composition of important ions used for IMRMS measurements. Among these are the product ions of ion molecule reactions of CO3−(H2O)n and H3O+(H2O)n ions with HNO3, SO2, acetone, HCN, and methyl cyanide. These reactions have been studied in the laboratory, and ions having the same masses as the expected product ions have been previously observed in atmospheric IMRMS spectra. The present fragmentation studies are the first to actually identify the chemical composition of these ions during aircraft measurements in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere and demonstrate that these ions can reliably be used for atmospheric trace gas measurements. Furthermore, the fragmentation studies gave indications for the existence and the possible identification of previously unknown ions. Among these the tentative identification of CO3−H2O2 offers the possibility for sensitive measurements of H2O2 by IMRMS. The fragmentation studies were accompanied by IMRMS measurements of atmospheric trace gases using the TQMS. Altitude profiles of HNO3, SO2, and lower limits for H2O2 are shown.