Toxic chemicals such as
flame retardants are associated with atmospheric fine particles (PM2.5), which are an important
pollutant in the world. In this study, a sensitive method using gas chromatography-tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry combined with ultrasonic-assisted extraction and multi-phase column purification was developed for simultaneously determination of 29
flame retardants including halogenated
flame retardants (
HFRs) and
organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) in PM2.5 samples. Extraction time, as well as the type and volume of elution
solvent were optimized. The recoveries of all target
flame retardants from PM2.5 samples were in the range of 70%‒130%, with good repeatability and reproducibility (0.39%‒17.4%). The instrumental detection limits (IDLs) and method quantitation limits (MQLs) of
HFRs were in the range of 0.004‒5.44 pg and 0.002‒2.52 pg m-3, while those of OPFRs were 0.003‒0.23 pg and 0.07‒5.41 pg m-3, respectively. The developed method has been successfully applied for analysis of target
flame retardants in atmospheric PM2.5 collected from the cities of Guangzhou and Taiyuan, China.
HFRs were found at concentrations of 45.7‒1230 pg m-3 and 51.2‒82.3 pg m-3 in Guangzhou and Taiyuan. The concentrations of
HFRs were lower than those of OPFRs, which were detected at concentrations of 6004‒49,800 pg m-3 and 16,741‒34,346 pg m-3 in Guangzhou and Taiyuan. Accordingly, the analytical method is robust and useful for further elucidating the contamination profiles of
flame retardants in PM2.5.