Continuous and filter-based measurements of PM 2.5 nitrate and sulfate at the Fresno Supersite.

PM(2.5) nitrate (NO-(3)) and sulfate (SO=(4)) were measured continuously with R&P8400N and R&P8400S instruments, respectively, and compared with filter-based measurements at the Fresno Supersite from October, 2000 through December, 2005. NO-(3) concentrations were higher in winter than summer with a long-term decreasing trend. Correlations between 24-h average continuous and filter-based NO-(3) were greater than 0.96 in 4 out of 5 years. Continuous NO-(3) was generally lower than filter-based NO-(3) although the difference decreased over time, from -52% in 2001 to +13% in 2005. These differences were similar in winter (-23%) and summer (-19%) while the corresponding differences between ambient and instrument temperature were -12 and 0.7 degrees C, respectively. Neither seasonal nor long-term trends in NO-(3) can be explained by variations in ambient temperature, the difference between ambient and instrument temperature, or changes in aerosol chemical composition. There were no seasonal or long-term trends in SO=(4) concentrations, partially due to low concentrations observed in Fresno. Long-term variability in the performance of R&P8400 NO-(3) and SO=(4) instruments suggest that collocation with filter measurements is needed for long-term measurements.

Comparison of continuous and filter-based carbon measurements at the Fresno supersite.

Results from six continuous and semicontinuous black carbon (BC) and elemental carbon (EC) measurement methods are compared for ambient samples collected from December 2003 through November 2004 at the Fresno Supersite in California. Instruments included a multi-angle absorption photometer (MAAP; lambda = 670 nm); a dual-wavelength (lambda = 370 and 880 nm) aethalometer; seven-color (lambda = 370, 470, 520, 590, 660, 880, and 950 nm) aethalometers; the Sunset Laboratory carbon aerosol analysis field instrument; a photoacoustic light absorption analyzer (lambda = 1047 nm); and the R&P 5400 ambient carbon particulate monitor. All of these acquired BC or EC measurements over periods of 1 min to 1 hr. Twenty-four-hour integrated filter samples were also acquired and analyzed by the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) thermal/optical reflectance carbon analysis protocol. Site-specific mass absorption efficiencies estimated by comparing light absorption with IMPROVE EC concentrations were 5.5 m2/g for the MAAP, 10 m2/g for the aethalometer at a wavelength of 880 nm, and 2.3 m2/g for the photoacoustic analyzer; these differed from the default efficiencies of 6.5, 16.6, and 5 m2/g, respectively. Scaling absorption by inverse wavelength did not provide equivalent light absorption coefficients among the instruments for the Fresno aerosol measurements. Ratios of light absorption at 370 nm to those at 880 nm from the aethalometer were nearly twice as high in winter as in summer. This is consistent with wintertime contributions from vehicle exhaust and from residential wood combustion, which is believed to absorb more shorter-wavelength light. To reconcile BC and EC measurements obtained by different methods, a better understanding is needed of the wavelength dependence of light-absorption and mass-absorption efficiencies and how they vary with different aerosol composition.

Formation of Dinuclear Copper(II) Complexes from a Macrocycle with Built-in Pyrazole Groups.

The 22-membered macrocycle, containing four endocyclic pyrazole groups and two exocyclic pyridine groups, viz. (9,22-di(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)-1,4,9,14,17,22,27,28,29,30-decaaza-5,13,18,26-tetramethyl)pentacyclo[24.2.1.1(4,7).1(11,14).1(17,20)]triacontane-5,7(28),11(29),12,18,20(30),24(27),25-octaene (MePy22Pz), has been synthesized in an eleven-step procedure. Two dinuclear copper(II) compounds, viz. [Cu(2)(MePy22Pz)(NO(3))(4)](MeOH)(2) (A) and [Cu(2)(MePy22Pz)(CF(3)SO(3))(2)(H(2)O)(2)](CF(3)SO(3))(2)(MeOH)(2) (B), were prepared with this macrocycle. In both compounds the copper(II) ions are in a square pyramidal N(3)O(2) environment involving a pyrazole nitrogen, a pyridine nitrogen, and a tertiairy amine nitrogen and two oxygen atoms, which stem from two different nitrate anions in compound A and from a triflate anion and a water molecule in compound B. Two of the four pyrazole groups of the macrocycle do not participate in the coordination. The pendent pyridine groups protrude on opposite sides of the macrocycle. Consequently, the copper ions are on different sides of the macrocyclic ring and quite far apart with Cu-Cu distances of 8.668(4) Å in A and 6.814(1) Å in B.