Abstract

Studies on the origin, transformation and fate of ultrafine atmospheric aerosols have gained attention because of the increasing number of small particles discharged into the atmosphere from different sources and their effects on health and the environment. Their size and chemical composition particles largely determine their behavior, biodegradation, persistence and impacts on the biosphere. This survey is aimed at describing the (i) main attributes of the tiniest particles related to their size and multielemental composition, (ii) analytical techniques more used to determine size-resolved multielemental composition, and (iii) key role played by analytical techniques to identify the contribution of different sources. In spite of the recognized advancements achieved in the field of analytical chemistry for aerosol characterization, more and new challenges appear. Various and complementary techniques are necessary to reach a comprehensive overview of the studied scenarios particularly focused on improving the sensitivity and selectivity of the techniques. The survey includes 103 references and covers principally the literature published over the last 15 years.

摘要

由于从不同来源排放到大气中的小颗粒数量不断增加及其对健康和环境的影响，超细大气气溶胶的起源、转化和归宿研究受到关注。它们的大小和化学成分颗粒在很大程度上决定了它们的行为、生物降解、持久性和对生物圈的影响。本调查旨在描述 (i) 与其尺寸和多元素组成相关的最小颗粒的主要属性，(ii) 更多用于确定尺寸分辨多元素组成的分析技术，以及 (iii) 分析技术在以下方面发挥的关键作用：确定不同来源的贡献。尽管在气溶胶表征的分析化学领域取得了公认的进步，更多新的挑战出现。需要各种互补的技术来全面了解所研究的场景，特别侧重于提高技术的灵敏度和选择性。该调查包括 103 篇参考文献，主要涵盖过去 15 年发表的文献。