TY - CONF A1 - Pollakowski-Herrmann, Beatrix A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Gross, A. A1 - Kayser, Y. A1 - Osan, J. A1 - Stabile, L. A1 - Beckhoff, B. T1 - Quantitative elemental analysis of ambient aerosol particles using portable TXRF N2 - A reliable analysis of aerosol particle is curial for enforcing EU air quality regulations to protect human health, and for research on climate change effects [1]. Although metrics such as PM10 and PM2.5 are currently in use, the level of uncertainty of aerosol metrics is too high and the traceability is insufficient. Within the AEROMET project [2] procedures are developed aiming at reducing the uncertainties of particle mass, size, and number concentration measurements including the characterization of regulated components in airborne particles. Here, we present an approach how to improve the uncertainties of the particle mass by mobile total reflection x-ray fluorescence (TXRF) analysis. The combination of TXRF and aerosols sampling techniques supported by reference-free synchrotron radiation-based XRF enables a quantitative real-time analysis of particle mass. During in-field campaigns, the procedure was tested, monitoring the size dependent mass concentrations of specific elements in ambient aerosols under dynamic conditions. This approach allows a direct time and size-resolved analysis without laborious digestion steps and a reduced risk of contamination. Aerosol particles were sampled in a 13-stage DLPI impactor on acrylic discs. TXRF analysis was performed on-site with the transportable spectrometer S2 PICOFOX (Bruker Nano GmbH). The TXRF quantification was based on internal standardization. At moderate air pollution levels (PM10 20 µg/m³) sampling times of less than 2 hours were enough to detect elements in different particle size bins. The on-site approach and the high sensitivity of TXRF enables the observation of rather quick changes in the quantity and distribution of elements in an ambient aerosol on the day of sampling. The analysis of the morning and afternoon sampling shifts reveals the occurrence of the elements Fe, Ca and Si in different size bins as well as their temporal change in respective mass concentrations over the day while the distributions of several other elements remain unchanged. T2 - 11th International Conference on “Instrumental Methods of Analysis” CY - Ioannina, Greece DA - 22.09.2019 KW - Air quality KW - Novel sample preparation techniques KW - Analytical chemistry KW - Metals PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49249 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -