Aerosol Measurements by Soot Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometer: a Review

Atmospheric aerosol particles, being composed of various types of chemical mixtures, affect significantly on human health and climate. During the last decade, many studies were focused on characterization of chemical and physical properties as well as source apportionment of atmospheric aerosols, which have made substantial implications for aerosol-induced air pollution and climate mitigation. Instrumental measurement techniques provide one of the most direct and effective ways to determine aerosol physicochemical characterization and thereby to constrain aerosol modeling. The Aerodyne soot particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SP-AMS), a state-of-the-art instrument, combines the advantages of both high-resolution time-of-flight AMS (HR-ToF-AMS) and single particle soot photometer (SP2). It can measure high-resolution chemical composition, size distribution, and mixing state of both non-refractory and refractory aerosol particles. Specially, chemical-resolved coating materials of refractory black carbon-containing particles can be quantified by SP-AMS. Moreover, same as HR-ToF-AMS, highly time-resolved organic mass spectral data can be applied for further identification and quantification of organic aerosol sources with receptor models, such as positive matrix factorization (PMF). This review summarizes results and findings obtained by recent SP-AMS measurements in field observations and laboratory studies. These SP-AMS measurements mainly cover the topics of soot cluster ions, trace metals, chemical composition and sources of non-refractory bulk aerosols, mixing state, and light absorption properties of black carbon-containing particles. Finally, we propose some potential prospects for future studies by using the SP-AMS.