Laboratory studies on the uptake of aromatic hydrocarbons by ice crystals during vapor depositional crystal growth

Uptake of aromatic hydrocarbons (AH) by ice crystals during vapor deposit growth was investigated in a walk-in cold chamber at temperatures of 242, 251, and 260K, respectively. Ice crystals were grown from ambient air in the presence of gaseous AH namely: benzene (C6H6), toluene (methylbenzene, C7H8), the C8H10 isomers ethylbenzene, o-, m-, p-xylene (dimethylbenzenes), the C9H12 isomers n-propylbenzene, 4-ethyltoluene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (1,3,5-TMB), 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (1,2,4-TMB), 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene (1,2,3-TMB), and the C10H14 compound tert.-butylbenzene. Gas-phase concentrations calculated at 295K were 10.3–20.8μgm−3. Uptake of AH was detected by analyzing vapor deposited ice with a very sensitive method composed of solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME), followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS).