Precise and Sensitive Water Soluble Ion Extraction Method for Aerosol Samples Collected on Polytetrafluoroethylene Filters

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Abstract
The widely used aerosol collection filters composed of polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) present a problem in the extraction of water soluble ions from the collection surface due to the hydrophobic nature of the Teflon. A method is presented for the extraction and analysis of water soluble ions from Teflon aerosol filters which is efficient and sensitive. This method uses a direct application of ethanol to the filter surface to decrease the surface tension of the filter and allow a dilute HC10, solution to contact the collection surface and extract any water soluble ions. This study compares this extraction method with other extraction methods currently being used. The results obtained from the extraction of water soluble ions from the Teflon filters were also compared to the results obtained from quartz filters collected on a colocated high volume sampler. From these studies, it is concluded that the hydrophobic nature of the Teflon filters makes the complete dissolution of water soluble ions exceptionally difficult and that the prewetting of the Teflon filters with ethanol minimizes dissolution and extraction problems.