Analytical instrument development and implementation
In order to study the gases and particles that make up the atmosphere, we must first be able to develop and deploy state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation to observe them with a high degree of accuracy and precision. Our research into analytical instrumentation is centred on the development of instruments to monitor trace gases, in particular volatile organic compounds, using Chemical Ionisation Reaction Mass Spectrometry (CIR-MS; in collaboration with the University of Leicester) and Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS). In particular, our current research involves using DOAS to monitor formaldehyde and nitrous acid, alongside more ‘standard’ pollution metrics such as NO2, O3 and SO2 concentration, in order to investigate their roles in urban atmosphere processes. Our research into the exploitation of analytic instrumentation also involves the application of commercialised particle counting technology to study UFP’s in urban air.
Projects
The AER team has, and continues to, work on numerous collaborative projects in the field of Analytical Instrument Development and Implementation; click on the links below to find out more about each piece of work:
Chemical Ionisation Reaction Mass Spectrometry (CIR-MS)
Real-time Air Fingerprinting Technology (RAFT)
JOAQUIN Advanced Air Quality research Station (JAAQS)
Highlight articles
“Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy for the Measurement of Air Pollutants”
Wyche and Smallbone, JAAQS inauguration, December 2015
“Chemical ionisation reaction mass spectrometry, applications and future directions”
Monks et al., 2007, NCAS Science Conference, 2007
Collaborators
University of Leicester, UK
Enirotechnology Ltd, UK
Funders
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Atmospheric Composition Change. The European NeTwork for excellence (ACCENT)
Integration of European Simulation Chambers for Investigating Atmospheric Processes (EUROCHAMP)
INTERREG-IVB Northwest Europe (EU-INTERREG)
University of Leicester
University of Brighton
Research Outputs
Wyche, Kevin, Whyte, C., Blake, R.S., Cordell, R.L., Willis, K.A., Ellis, A.M. and Monks, P.S. (2008) Atmospheric monitoring with chemical ionisation reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CIR-TOF-MS) and future developments: Hadamard transform mass spectrometry In: Kim, Y. and Platt, U., eds. Advanced Environmental Monitoring. Springer, Netherlands, pp. 64-76. ISBN 9781402063633
Apel, E.C., Brauers, T., Koppmann, R., Bandowe, B., Boßmeyer, J., Holzke, C., Tillmann, R., Wahner, A., Wegener, R., Brunner, A., Jocher, M., Ruuskanen, T., Spirig, C., Steigner, D., Steinbrecher, R., Gomez Alvarez, E., Müller, K., Burrows, J.P., Schade, G., Solomon, S.J., Ladstätter-Weißenmayer, A., Simmonds, P., Young, D., Hopkins, J.R., Lewis, A.C., Legreid, G., Reimann, S., Hansel, A., Wisthaler, A., Blake, R.S., Ellis, A.M., Monks, P.S. and Wyche, Kevin (2008) Intercomparison of oxygenated volatile organic compound (OVOC) measurements at the SAPHIR atmosphere simulation chamber Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 113 (D20). ISSN 2169-897X
Cordell, R.L., Willis, K.A., Wyche, Kevin, Blake, R.S., Ellis, A.M. and Monks, P.S. (2007) Detection of chemical weapon agents and simulants using chemical ionization reaction time-of-flight mass Spectrometry Analytical Chemistry, 79 (21). pp. 8359-8366. ISSN 0003-2700
Whyte, C., Wyche, Kevin, Kholia, Mitesh, Ellis, A.M. and Monks, P.S. (2007) Fast fingerprinting of arson accelerants by proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry International Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 263 (2-3). pp. 222-232. ISSN 1387-3806
Wyche, Kevin, Blake, R.S., Ellis, A.M., Monks, P.S., Brauers, T., Koppmann, R. and Apel, E.C. (2007) Technical note: Performance of Chemical Ionization Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (CIR-TOF-MS) for the measurement of atmospherically significant oxygenated volatile organic compounds Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 7. pp. 609-620. ISSN 1680-7316
Blake, R.S., Wyche, Kevin, Ellis, A.M. and Monks, P.S. (2006) Chemical ionization reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry: Multi-reagent analysis for determination of trace gas composition International Journal of Mass Spectrometry, 254 (1-2). pp. 85-93. ISSN 1387-3806
Wyche, Kevin, Blake, R.S., Willis, K.A., Monks, P.S. and Ellis, A.M. (2005) Differentiation of isobaric compounds using chemical ionization reaction mass spectrometry Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 19 (22). pp. 3356-3362. ISSN 0951-4198