Assessing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in atmospheric and aquatic environments: analytical challenges and opportunities

Atmosphere-upper ocean exchange of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) affect the chemical composition of the atmosphere and surface seawater, acting both as a source and sink for these reactive species. Despite extensive knowledge implicating ROS/RNS as health and climate-relevant players, there are still analytical challenges related to the accurate assessment of ROS/RNS in atmospheric and aquatic matrices. This review discusses the relative merits and weaknesses of the existing analytical tools for ROS/RNS analysis in these matrices. A distinction is made between offline and real-time methods, with the latter stemming from the need to analyse samples on short timescales. The suitability of carbon nanoparticles sensors for in-situ real-time measurements of these reactive gaseous pollutants at the atmosphere-hydrosphere interface is also highlighted.
 

Reference: Simões, E.F.C., Almeida, A.S., Duarte, A.C., et al. (2021). Assessing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in atmospheric and aquatic environments: Analytical challenges and opportunities. TrAC Trend Anal. Chem., 135,116149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2020.116149.