Stability assessment of organic sulfur and organosulfate compounds in filter samples for quantification by Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy and Ion Chromatography

This data set contains various measurements obtained from the analyses of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filters. The goal of the paper is to assess the potential of using PTFE filters collected in the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) to measure organic sulfur compounds. The data include 1) gravimetric mass measurements to assess mass stability over time, 2) FT-IR spectra to assess and understand the changes of the functional groups of each compound, and 3) IC and/or Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) to assess extraction efficiency and stability of each compound. All data were in ug/filter units except FT-IR spectra which is in absorbance units (AU). The compounds were organosulfur, methanesulfonic acid (MSA), hydroxymethanesulfonate ion (HMS), and organosulfate methyl sulfate (MS) and 2-methyl tetrol sulfate (2-MTS).

Methods
This data was collected from gravimetric measurements and FT-IR spectra analysis of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filters. AIRSpec was used to baseline FT-IR spectra. Filters were extracted and the solution was analyzed over time for IC data and/or ICPOES.