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Abstract. Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) are major components of atmospheric fineparticulate matter, affecting climate and air quality. Mounting evidenceexists that SOA can adopt glassy and viscous semisolid states, impactingformation and partitioning of SOA. In this study, we apply the GECKO-A(Generator of Explicit Chemistry and Kinetics of Organics in the Atmosphere)model to conduct explicit chemical modeling of isoprene photooxidation andα-pinene ozonolysis and their subsequent SOA formation. The detailedgas-phase chemical schemes from GECKO-A are implemented into a box model andcoupled to our recently developed glass transition temperatureparameterizations, allowing us to predict SOA viscosity. The effects ofchemical composition, relative humidity, mass loadings and mass accommodation on particle viscosity are investigated in comparison withmeasurements of SOA viscosity. The simulated viscosity of isoprene SOAagrees well with viscosity measurements as a function of relative humidity,while the model underestimates viscosity of α-pinene SOA by a feworders of magnitude. This difference may be due to missing processes in themodel, including autoxidation and particle-phase reactions, leading to theformation of high-molar-mass compounds that would increase particleviscosity. Additional simulations imply that kinetic limitations of bulkdiffusion and reduction in mass accommodation coefficient may play a role inenhancing particle viscosity by suppressing condensation of semi-volatilecompounds. The developed model is a useful tool for analysis andinvestigation of the interplay among gas-phase reactions, particle chemicalcomposition and SOA phase state. 

Chemical mechanisms play an important role in simulating the atmospheric chemistry of volatile organic compound oxidation. Comparison of mechanism simulations with laboratory chamber data tests our level of understanding of the prevailing chemistry as well as the dynamic processes occurring in the chamber itself. α-Pinene photooxidation is a well-studied system experimentally, for which detailed chemical mechanisms have been formulated. Here, we present the results of simulating low-NO α-pinene photooxidation experiments conducted in the Caltech chamber with the Generator for Explicit Chemistry and Kinetics of Organics in the Atmosphere (GECKO-A) under varying concentrations of seed particles and OH levels. Unexpectedly, experiments conducted at low and high OH levels yield the same secondary organic aerosol (SOA) growth, whereas GECKO-A predicts greater SOA growth under high OH levels. SOA formation in the chamber is a result of a competition among the rates of gas-phase oxidation to low-volatility products, wall deposition of these products, and condensation into the aerosol phase. Various processes – such as photolysis of condensed-phase products, particle-phase dimerization, and peroxy radical autoxidation – are explored to rationalize the observations. In order to explain the observed similar SOA growth at different OH levels, we conclude that vapor wall loss in the Caltech chamber is likely of order 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹, consistent with previous experimental measurements in that chamber. We find that GECKO-A tends to overpredict the contribution to SOA of later-generation oxidation products under high-OH conditions. Moreover, we propose that autoxidation may alternatively resolve some or all of the measurement–model discrepancy, but this hypothesis cannot be confirmed until more explicit mechanisms are established for α-pinene autoxidation. The key role of the interplay among oxidation rate, product volatility, and vapor–wall deposition in chamber experiments is illustrated.