, vol. 7, pp. 5533–5558, 2014.
<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Herein, we report on the development of a compact proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer for airborne measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The new instrument resolves isobaric ions with a mass resolving power (</span><i style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">m</i><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">/Δ</span><i style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">m</i><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">) of ~ 1000, provides accurate </span><i style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">m/z</i><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> measurements (Δ</span><i style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">m</i><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> < 3 mDa), records full mass spectra at 1 Hz and thus overcomes some of the major analytical deficiencies of quadrupole-MS based airborne instruments. 1 Hz detection limits for biogenic VOCs (isoprene, α-pinene), aromatic VOCs (benzene, toluene, xylenes) and ketones (acetone, methyl ethyl ketone) range from 0.05 to 0.12 ppbV, making the instrument well-suited for fast measurements in the continental boundary layer. The instrument detects and quantifies VOCs in locally confined plumes (< 1km) which improves our capability of characterizing emission sources and atmospheric processing within plumes. A deployment during the NASA 2013 DISCOVER-AQ mission generated high vertical and horizontal resolution in situ data of VOCs and ammonia for validation of satellite retrievals and chemistry transport models.</span></p>