Abstract. The formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from the oxidation of β-pinene via nitrate radicals is investigated in the Georgia Tech Environmental Chamber (GTEC) facility. Aerosol yields are determined for experiments performed under both dry (relative humidity (RH) < 2 %) and humid (RH = 50 % and RH = 70 %) conditions. To probe the effects of peroxy radical (RO2) fate on aerosol formation, "RO2 + NO3 dominant" and "RO2 + HO2 dominant" experiments are performed. Gas-phase organic nitrate species (with molecular weights of 215, 229, 231, and 245 amu, which likely correspond to molecular formulas of C10H17NO4, C10H15NO5, C10H17NO5, and C10H15NO6, respectively) are detected by chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS) and their formation mechanisms are proposed. The NO+ (at m/z 30) and NO2+ (at m/z 46) ions contribute about 11 % to the combined organics and nitrate signals in the typical aerosol mass spectrum, with the NO+ : NO2+ ratio ranging from 4.8 to 10.2 in all experiments conducted. The SOA yields in the "RO2 + NO3 dominant" and "RO2 + HO2 dominant" experiments are comparable. For a wide range of organic mass loadings (5.1–216.1 μg m−3), the aerosol mass yield is calculated to be 27.0–104.1 %. Although humidity does not appear to affect SOA yields, there is evidence of particle-phase hydrolysis of organic nitrates, which are estimated to compose 45–74 % of the organic aerosol. The extent of organic nitrate hydrolysis is significantly lower than that observed in previous studies on photooxidation of volatile organic compounds in the presence of NOx. It is estimated that about 90 and 10 % of the organic nitrates formed from the β-pinene+NO3 reaction are primary organic nitrates and tertiary organic nitrates, respectively. While the primary organic nitrates do not appear to hydrolyze, the tertiary organic nitrates undergo hydrolysis with a lifetime of 3–4.5 h. Results from this laboratory chamber study provide the fundamental data to evaluate the contributions of monoterpene + NO3 reaction to ambient organic aerosol measured in the southeastern United States, including the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) and the Southeastern Center for Air Pollution and Epidemiology (SCAPE) study.
Abstract. Chlorine-initiated oxidation of n-alkanes (C8−12) under high-nitrogen oxide conditions was investigated. Observed secondary organic aerosol yields (0.16 to 1.65) are higher than those for OH-initiated oxidation of C8−12 alkanes (0.04 to 0.35). A high-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer coupled to a Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols (FIGAERO–CIMS) was used to characterize the gas- and particle-phase molecular composition. Chlorinated organics were observed, which likely originated from chlorine addition to the double bond present on the heterogeneously produced dihydrofurans. A two-dimensional thermogram representation was developed to visualize the composition and relative volatility of organic aerosol components using unit-mass resolution data. Evidence of oligomer formation and thermal decomposition was observed. Aerosol yield and oligomer formation were suppressed under humid conditions (35% to 67% RH) relative to dry conditions (under 5% RH). The temperature at peak desorption signal, Tmax, a proxy for aerosol volatility, was shown to change with aerosol filter loading, which should be constrained when evaluating aerosol volatilities using the FIGAERO–CIMS. Results suggest that long-chain anthropogenic alkanes could contribute significantly to ambient aerosol loading over their atmospheric lifetime.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1653625
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10082745
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
- Volume:
- 18
- Issue:
- 21
- ISSN:
- 1680-7324
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 15535 to 15553
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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The effect of relative humidity (RH) on the chemical composition of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed from low-NOx toluene oxidation in the absence of seed particles was investigated. SOA samples were prepared in an aerosol smog chamber at < 2 % RH and 75 % RH, collected on Teflon filters, and analyzed with nanospray desorption electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (nano-DESI–HRMS). Measurements revealed a significant reduction in the fraction of oligomers present in the SOA generated at 75 % RH compared to SOA generated under dry conditions. In a separate set of experiments, the particle mass concentrations were measured with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) at RHs ranging from < 2 to 90 %. It was found that the particle mass loading decreased by nearly an order of magnitude when RH increased from < 2 to 75–90 % for low-NOx toluene SOA. The volatility distributions of the SOA compounds, estimated from the distribution of molecular formulas using themore » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-15535-2018
