Characterization of submicron particles during autumn in Beijing,China

摘要

In this study, we performed a highly time-resolved chemical characterization of nonrefractory submicron particles(NR-PM_1) in Beijing by using an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer(HR-ToF-AMS). The results showed the average NR-PM_1 mass concentration to be 56.4 ± 58.0 μg/m^3, with a peak at 307.4 μg/m^3. Due to the high frequency of biomass burning in autumn, submicron particles significantly increased in organic content, which accounted for 51% of NR-PM_1 on average. Secondary inorganic aerosols(sulfate + nitrate + ammonium) accounted for 46% of NR-PM_1, of which sulfate,nitrate, and ammonium contributed 15%, 20%, and 11%, respectively. To determine the intrinsic relationships between the organic and inorganic species, we used the positive matrix factorization(PMF) model to merge the high-resolution mass spectra of the organic species and NO+and NO_2^+ions. The PMF analysis separated the mixed organic and nitrate(NO+and NO_2^+) spectra into four organic factors, including hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol(HOA), oxygenated organic aerosol(OOA), cooking organic aerosol(COA), and biomass burning organic aerosol(BBOA), as well as one nitrate inorganic aerosol(NIA) factor. COA(33%) and OOA(30%) contributed the most to the total organic aerosol(OA) mass, followed by BBOA(20%) and HOA(17%). We successfully quantified the mass concentrations of the organic and inorganic nitrates by the NO+and NO2+ions signal in the organic and NIA factors. The organic nitrate mass varied from 0.01-6.8 μg/m^3, with an average of 1.0 ±1.1 μg/m^3, and organic nitrate components accounted for 10% of the total nitrate mass in this observation.