Determination of benzene, toluene and xylene concentration in humid air using differential ion mobility spectrometry and partial least squares regression.

Benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX compounds) are chemicals of greatest concern due to their impact on humans and the environment. In many cases, quantitative information about each of these compounds is required. Continuous, fast-response analysis, performed on site would be desired for this purpose. Several methods have been developed to detect and quantify these compounds in this way. Methods vary considerably in sensitivity, accuracy, ease of use and cost-effectiveness. The aim of this work is to show that differential ion mobility spectrometry (DMS) may be applied for determining concentration of BTX compounds in humid air. We demonstrate, this goal is achievable by applying multivariate analysis of the measurement data using partial least squares (PLS) regression. The approach was tested at low concentrations of these compounds in the range of 5-20 ppm and for air humidity in a range 0-12 g/kg. These conditions correspond to the foreseeable application of the developed approach in occupational health and safety measurements. The average concentration assessment error was about 1 ppm for each: benzene, toluene and xylene. We also successfully determined water vapor content in air. The error achieved was 0.2 g/kg. The obtained results are very promising regarding further development of DMS technique as well as its application.

Fragmentation of molecular ions in differential mobility spectrometry as a method for identification of chemical warfare agents.

The subject of the work is the use of differential mobility spectrometry (DMS) for the detection of chemical warfare agents (CWA). Studies were performed for mustard gas, i.e., bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide (HD), sarin, i.e., O-isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate (GB) and methyl salicylate (MS) used as test compounds. Measurements were conducted with two ceramic DMS analyzers of different constructions allowing the generation of an electric field with an intensity of more than 120 Td. Detector signals were measured for positive and negative modes of operation in a temperature range from 0 to 80 °C. Fragmentations of ions containing analyte molecules were observed for all tested compounds. The effective temperatures of fragmentation estimated on the basis of dispersion plots were equal from about 148 °C for GB to 178 °C for MS. It was found that values of separation voltage (SV) and compensation voltage (CV) at which the fragmentation of sample ions is observed may be the parameters improving the certainty of detection for different analytes. The DMS analyzers enabling the observation of ion fragmentation can be successfully used for effective CWA detection.