Near real-time measurement of carbonaceous aerosol using microplasma spectroscopy: application to measurement of carbon nanomaterials

Details

• Personal Author:
  Birch, M. Eileen ; Deye G ; Dionysiou DD ; Kulkarni P ; Zheng L
• Description:
  A sensitive, field-portable microplasma spectroscopy method has been developed for real-time measurement of carbon nanomaterials. The method involves microconcentration of aerosol on a microelectrode tip for subsequent analysis for atomic carbon using spark emission spectroscopy (SES). The spark-induced microplasma was characterized by measuring the excitation temperature (15,000-35,000 K), electron density (1.0 × 1017-2.2 × 1017cm-3), and spectral responses as functions of time and interelectrode distance. The system was calibrated and detection limits were determined for total atomic carbon (TAC) using a carbon emission line at 247.856 nm (CI) for various carbonaceous materials including sucrose, EDTA, caffeine, sodium carbonate, carbon black, and carbon nanotubes. The limit of detection for total atomic carbon was 1.61 ng, equivalent to 238 ng m-3when sampling at 1.5 L min-1for 5 min. To improve the selectivity for carbon nanomaterials, which mainly consist of elemental carbon (EC), the cathode was heated to 300 degrees C to reduce the contribution of organic carbon to the total atomic carbon. Measurements of carbon nanotube aerosol at elevated electrode temperature showed improved selectivity to elemental carbon and compared well with the measurements from the thermal optical method (NIOSH Method 5040). The study shows the SES method to be an excellent candidate for development of low-cost, hand-portable, real-time instrument for measurement of carbonaceous aerosols and nanomaterials. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Laboratories Microbiology Occupational Health Safety Spectrum Analysis Temperature
• Keywords:
  Aerosol Particles Analytical-instruments Analytical Method Carbon Fibers Carbon Nanofibers Carbon Nanotubes CNF Electron Microscopy Laboratory-equipment Measurement-equipment Microscopic Analysis Nanomaterials Nanotechnology Sampling Equipment Sampling Methods Spectrographic Analysis Spectroscopes Temperature Measurement Testing-equipment Thermal Effects

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• ISSN:
  0278-6826
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  50
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048683
• Citation:
  Aerosol Sci Technol 2016 Nov; 50(11):1155-1166
• Contact Point Address:
  Pramod Kulkarni, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1090 Tusculum, MS R7, Cincinnati, OH 45226, USA
• Email:
  PSKulkarni@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon (CAS RN 7440-44-0) ; Carbon nanotubes (CAS RN 308068-56-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Aerosol Science and Technology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0cfbb03356169d3f3c0c34c365e2547789df017f86550fe17d3e8c79f98e9d9230639d8c3f1156440cb730bd0f82615e2d56def330b6fcf6d5d316fbbdfdc439
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203380/cdc_203380_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.34 MB ]