Development and field validation of a new diffusive sampler for determination of atmospheric volatile organic compounds

•A new diffusive sampler was developed for determination of VOCs.•A comprehensive validation study was carried out under field conditions.•Uptake rates were evaluated together with the meteorological parameters.•The results of the validation study were satisfactory.•The diffusive sampler is reliable and applicable for atmospheric VOC sampling.

A tailor-made diffusive sampler was developed for the determination of atmospheric Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and the validation of the sampler was carried out under field conditions. All parts of the diffusive sampler which are reusable after a proper cleaning process were made of plastic material (delrin). The reusability of the sampler brings an important advantage considering its lower cost. Activated carbon was used as adsorbent and VOCs adsorbed on the activated carbon were analyzed by GC-MS (gas chromatography equipped with mass selective detector). A comprehensive validation study including detection limit, precision, bias, recovery, self-consistency, shelf life, storage stability, reusability was carried out in accordance with the related European standards ((EN) 13528-1 (2000) and 13528-2 (2000)). Also, a comparison was performed with some commercial diffusive samplers such as 3 M OVM 3500 and Radiello to test the performance of the new diffusive sampler in different environments such as urban area and road tunnel. Uptake rates for the measured VOCs were determined and they were evaluated together with the meteorological parameters (temperature, humidity, wind speed). According to the validation results; all the parameters evaluated for the sampler comply with the related standards and this is an indication of the reliability of the sampler for the sampling of VOCs in the atmosphere.