Elemental Analysis of Atmospheric Particulate Matter
Summary
Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) comprises a complex mixture of solid and liquid particles suspended in air, typically classified by aerodynamic diameter into coarse (PM10), fine (PM2.5) and ultrafine fractions. Elemental analysis seeks to determine the concentration and distribution of metals and trace elements within these particles, providing critical insight into sources, transport processes and health impacts. Metals such as lead, cadmium, nickel and vanadium serve both as markers of anthropogenic activities—combustion, industrial emissions, vehicular traffic—and as agents of oxidative stress in biological tissues. Analyses are carried out on particles collected by filter samplers or cascade impactors and rely on techniques ranging from wet chemical digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to non-destructive methods such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and laser ablation ICP-MS. Key challenges include achieving low detection limits for trace elements, minimising sample preparation artefacts and resolving size‐segregated elemental profiles with sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. Advances in total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) and surface‐analysis techniques now enable rapid, in-field and high-time-resolution measurements, underpinning source apportionment studies, regulatory compliance and evaluation of mitigation strategies on a global scale.
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Elemental Analysis of Atmospheric Particulate Matter publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in elemental analysis of atmospheric particulate matter across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Particulate matter (PM): Suspended solid or liquid particles in the atmosphere classified by aerodynamic diameter, notably PM10 and PM2.5.
Elemental analysis: Quantitative determination of elemental composition in PM samples to identify and quantify metals and trace elements.
Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS): Technique using a high‐temperature plasma to ionise elements and a mass spectrometer to detect them at trace levels.
X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF): Non-destructive method in which characteristic X-rays emitted by elements under excitation are used for quantitative analysis.
Cascade impactor: Sampling device that separates particles by aerodynamic size onto sequential substrates for size‐resolved analysis.
Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF): XRF variant employing grazing‐angle incidence to enhance sensitivity for trace element detection on flat substrates.
References
- Elemental analysis of particulate matter by X-ray fluorescence methods: A green approach to air quality monitoring. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry (2024).
- Critical review on the development of analytical techniques for the elemental analysis of airborne particulate matter. Trends in Environmental Analytical Chemistry (2022).
- Evaluating PM2.5 element concentration measurements for a nationwide monitoring network. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association (2023).
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