Table 2.

BC analysis methods overview across diverse media including the sample representation.

Category	Technique	Sample	Sample preparation	Volume	Media	Advantages	Limitations	References
Microscopy	Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)	Aerosol Soil Lung	Ultrasonic extraction Ultrasonic extraction Separation of coarse components Tissue fixation and sectioning	Few	All media	Simple operation and Equipment High qualitative Ability Few sample volumes	Not able to quantify Susceptible to interference in a complex matrix Only observe a limited number of particles	(Brodowski et al., 2005; Chen et al., 2005; Liati et al., 2014; Pabst and Hofer, 1998; Wensing et al., 2011)
	PPPM	Urine	Not specified	Few	Urine water	Imaging analysis Few sample volumes	Expensive instruments Quantitative inaccuracy Not useable for organic-rich substrates	(Steuwe et al., 2018)
	Femtosecond pulsed laser microscopy (FPLM) FPLM	Urine Placenta Buffer medium	Not specified Tissue fixation and sectioning Ultrasonication to break aggregates Vortexed properly suspend the particles	200 μL Few 250 μL	Urine water blood tissue	Low detection limit Imaging analysis Few sample volumes	Expensive instruments Not useable for organic-rich substrates Interference from Particle aggregation	(Aslam and Roeffaers, 2021; Bové et al., 2019; Saenen et al., 2017)
Optical methods	AE51	Aerosol	In situ measurement	Online	Aerosol	Simple operation and equipment; In situ and real-time monitoring	Interference caused by light-absorbing substances	(Kar et al., 2012)
	OT21 OT21	Aerosol Snow	In situ measurement Melting and filtering of snow samples	Not specified 500 mL	Aerosol Snow Ice Water	Simple operation and equipment In situ analysis Low detection limit	Interference caused by light-absorbing substances	(Ahmed et al., 2009; Cereceda-Balic et al., 2019)
	Photoacoustic sensor	Aerosol	In situ measurement	Online	Aerosol	Simple operation and equipment In situ and real-time monitoring	Low analytical sensitivity	(Beck et al., 2003)
	TOT TOR TOT	Aerosol Aerosol Snow	In situ measurement In situ measurement Melting and filtering of snow samples	Not specified Not specified 100 mL	Aerosol Snow Ice Water	In situ analysis Multimedia analysis Simultaneous analysis of multiple black carbon species	Potential sample loss during sample transfer Filter membrane effects	(Hou et al., 2011; Lim et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2019)
	Single particle soot photometer (SP2)	Snow Aerosol	Sample melting and aerosolization In situ measurement	50 mL Online	Snow Ice Aerosol	In situ and real-time monitoring Low detection limit	Limited detection range (70–500 nm) Inorganic salts interference effect	(Zanatta et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2021)
	Raman	Aerosol	Ultrasonication	Not specified	All media	Simple operation and equipment	Low analytical sensitivity Matrix interference	(Wang et al., 2021)
Mass spectrometry	Laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) LDI-MS	Mice organs Aerosol	Tissue homogenization In situ measurement	1 μL 0.28 cm2 membranes	Tissue Aerosol Water	In situ analysis Imaging analysis Few sample volumes Multimedia analysis Low detection limit	Expensive instruments	(Lin et al., 2021; Min et al., 2022)
	Secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS)	Aerosol	Not detected	Not detected	Aerosol	Imaging study In situ study High spatial Resolution	Expensive instruments Not suitable for large volume samples or bulk Phase determination	(Cheng et al., 2014)
	Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS)	Aerosols	In situ measurement	Online	Aerosols	In situ and real-time monitoring Low detection limit Low detection limit	Not suitable for samples that are difficult to nebulize	(Kirchner et al., 2003; Lee et al., 2015)
Chemical analysis methods	Wet chemo oxidation	Soil	Acidification with 10 % HF for 12 h	250–400 mg	Soil Sediment	Simple equipment Multimedia analysis	High detection limits Coking effect; Impurity interference	(Knicker et al., 2007)
	CTO-375	Soil	Acidification with 12 M HCl for 4 h	5–25 mg	Soil Sediment	(1) Simple equipment (2) Multi-media analysis	High detection limits Complex pretreatment procedures Not applicable for low- condensed black carbon Coking effect	(Agarwal and Bucheli, 2011; Eckdahl et al., 2022)
	BPCAs	Soil	Acidification with 4 M trifluoroacetic acid Residue was collected by filtration and oxidized with 65 % HNO3 for 8 h at 170 ?C	0.5 g	Water Soil Sediment	Multi-media analysis Low detection limit The capability of analysis of dissolved black carbon	Complex pre-treatment procedures Not applicable for low-condensed black carbon	(Llorente et al., 2018)