Determination of airborne PAHs using passive sampling with 2,6 diphenyl-p-phenylenoxide as adsorbant

This study focused on initial tests of a small passive air sampler, utilising glass fiber filters and 2,6 diphenyl-pphenylenoxide as the substrate. The sampler was technically designed for both gaseous and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). It was further validated in a field sampling campaign in a suburban area and the passive sampling rates were calculated by cross comparison with simultaneous active sampler data. Higher sampling rates were observed for low-molecular-weight PAHs, upon prolonged sampling periods at outdoor ambient air conditions. Although only moderate sampling rates were observed when coupled with a highly sensitive analysis technique based on thermal desorption gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, the passive sampler was shown to be competitive with the other passive samplers in literature. These results are promising and support the future use of this sampler for more quantitative analysis of gaseous and particle-bound PAHs.