Non-Target and Suspect Screening of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Airborne Particulate Matter in China

Airborne particulate matter (APM) has an important role in inhalation exposure, especially in China. The environmental occurrence of conventional and unknown per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in APM remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, a two-stage experiment was designed to identify potential PFASs and to investigate their distribution in APM. Indoor and outdoor APM samples were collected from five selected cities in China. Through PFAS homologue analysis and suspect screening, 50 peaks were identified with different confidence levels (levels 1–3). Among the identified PFASs, 34 emerging PFASs including p-perfluorous nonenoxybenzenesulfonate, 6:2 polyfluoroalkyl phosphate diester, n:2 fluorotelomer sulfonates, n:2 fluorinated telomer acids, n:2 chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic acids, 1:n polyfluoroalkyl ether carboxylic acids (1:n PFECAs), perfluoroalkyl dioic acids (PFdiOAs), hydro-substituted perfluoroalkyl dioic acids (H-PFdiOAs), and unsaturated perfluorinated alcohols (UPFAs...