Laser mass spectrometry for high sensitive and multi-com- ponent analysis of exhaust gas from vehicles

Laser mass spectrometry is a newly developed method for pollutant detection. It combines resonance-en- hanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) and time-of-flight mass spectro- metry (TOF-MS). It may detect pollutants with high sensitivity, high selectivity and in a multi-com- ponent way. In this note, laser mass spectrometry was used to detect the pollutants in exhaust gases from vehicles. With one-color REMPI (at 266 nm), several aromatic hydrocarbons, including benzene, toluene, xylene, C3-benzene, etc., were detected. These substances were selectively ionized by (1+1) REMPI and their mass resolution was detected by a TOF mass spectrometer. And a quantitative analysis was achieved.