Development of GC-Orbitrap-HRMS Method for Volatile Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Ambient Air in Japan and China

A new analytical method using GC-Orbitrap-HRMS was developed for the identification and quantification of volatile per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in ambient air samples. Thirty-six volatile PFAS and halogenated organic compounds in ambient air samples, which were collected using nano particle and gas sampler (NS20) in Japan and China in 2019 and 2020, were successfully analyzed by the GC-Orbitrap-HRMS method. This is the first study to measure volatile PFAS such as fluorotelomer iodides (FTI), perfluoroalkyl diiodide (PFADiI), fluorotelomer acrylates (FTAC), fluorotelomer methacrylates (FTMAC), bromopentafluorobenzene (BPFB) and 1-bromo-3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzene (BTFMBB), in the ambient air samples using GC-Orbitrap-HRMS. In addition, we examined matrix effects that prevent accurate quantification of volatile PFAS in ambient air samples, and significant matrix effects were observed in MS scanning. The selection of analysis mode is one of the important parameters for GC-Orbitrap-HRMS. This technique will facilitate understanding the kinetics of PFAS in ambient air.