Simultaneous determination of nine atmospheric amines and six inorganic ions by non-suppressed ion chromatography using acetonitrile and 18-crown-6 as eluent additive

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Atmospheric amines contribute to the nucleation and initial growth of new particles as well as secondary organic aerosol formation, influencing the radiative balance of the Earth's atmosphere. In this study, we develop an ion chromatography (IC) method for separating and quantifying the nine most abundant amines (methylaminium (MMAH+), dimethylaminium (DMAH+), trimethylaminium (TMAH+), ethylaminium (MEAH+), diethylaminium (DEAH+), propylaminium (MPAH+), butylaminium (MBAH+), ethanolaminium (MEOH+), and triethanolaminium (TEOH+)) from six common inorganic species in atmospheric aerosols. The retention times of the amines were altered by the addition of acetonitrile to the eluent because acetonitrile can reduce the adsorption of hydrophobic amines on the stationary phase. The developed method achieved the successful separation of DEAH+ and TMAH+ from inorganic cations, which often coelute with each other in established IC methods. The interference of K+ on the determination of MEAH+ was eliminated by the complexation of K+ with 18-crown-6, which prolonged the retention time of K+. Finally, 9 target amines and 6 common inorganic cations were separated, with a resolution Rs ≥ 1.2 for DEAH+ and MPAH+ and Rs > 1.5 for other species. The detection limits varied in the range of 0.34-1.48 ng for the 9 amines and 0.19-0.56 ng for the inorganic cations. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of low molecular weight amines and inorganic cations in PM2.5 collected from an urban site in Shanghai and an isolated coast of Chongming Island. Eight amines were detected in the urban samples, in which MMAH+ and DMAH+ dominated. The average amine concentration in the urban aerosols was 76.3 ± 38.4 ng m−3, which is approximately 4-fold higher than those in the marine samples collected from the coast.