QUANTITATIVE PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY (ESCA) OF SULFATE AEROSOL ON FILTRATION MEDIA.

One of the multielement techniques for identification and determination of surface-enriched material is X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (ESCA). The application of ESCA to aerosol samples was attempted only in few cases despite the possible gain in information not only on elemental composition but also on oxidation states. One difficulty is the interpretation of ESCA signals in quantitative terms. The aim of this study was the systematic investigation on filtration media suitable as aerosol sampling substrate for the following ESCA procedure, too. Also the linearity between ESCA signal and aerosol mass, resp. the particle size was of interest. As a model substance sodium sulfate aerosol was chosen. The results obtained will serve as a basis for the development of an 'on line' ESCA instrument.