Flow reactor and triple quadrupole mass spectrometer investigations of negative ion reactions involving nitric acid: Implications for atmospheric HNO3 detection by chemical ionization mass spectrometry

Atmospheric nitric acid measurements by ACIMS (Active Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry) are based on ion-molecule reactions of CO₃ ^-(H₂O) _n and NO₃ ^-(H₂O) _n with HNO₃. We have studied these reactions in the laboratory using a flow tube apparatus with mass spectrometric detection of reactant and product ions. Both product ion distributions and rate coefficients were measured. All reactions were investigated in an N₂-buffer (1–3 hPa) at room temperature. The reaction rate coefficients of OH^-, O₂ ^-, O₃ ^-, CO₄ ^-, CO₃ ^-, CO₃ ^-H₂O, NO₃ ^-, and NO₃ ^-H₂O were measured relative to the known rate k=3.0×10^-9 cm³ s^-1 for the reaction of O^- with HNO₃. The main product ion of the reaction of CO₃ ^-H₂O with HNO₃ was found to be (CO₃HNO₃)^- supporting a previous suggestion made on the basis of balloon-borne ACIMS measurements. For the reaction of bare CO₃ ^- with HNO₃ three product ions were observed, namely NO₃ ^-, (NO₃OH)^-, and (CO₃HNO₃)^-. The reaction rate coefficients for CO₃ ^-H₂O (1.7×10^-9 cm³ s^-1) and NO₃ ^-H₂O (1.6×10^-9 cm³ s^-1) were found to be close to the collision rate. The measured k values for bare CO₃ ^- (1.3×10^-9 cm³ s^-1) and NO₃ ^- (0.7×10^-9 cm³ s^-1) are somewhat smaller. The collisional dissociations of CO₃ ^-(H₂O) _n , NO₃ ^-(H₂O) _n (n=1, 2), (CO₃HNO₃)^- and (NO₃HNO₃)^-, occasionally influencing ACIMS measurements, were also studied. Fragment ion distributions were measured using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The results showed that previous stratospheric nitric acid measurements were unimpaired from collisional dissociation processes whereas these processes played a major role during previous tropospheric measurements leading to an underestimation of nitric acid concentrations. Previous ACIMS HNO₃ detection was also affected by the conversion of CO₃ ^-(H₂O) _n to NO₃ ^-(H₂O) _n due to ion source-produced neutral radicals. A novel ACIMS ion source was developed in order to avoid these problems and to improve the ACIMS method.