The adsorption of formic acid on thin ice films and on ice doped with nitric acid (1.96, 7.69 and 53.8 wt%) is studied as a function of temperature T=195-211 K and gas concentration (0.33-10.6)×10(11) molecule cm(-3). Experiments are performed in a Knudsen flow reactor coupled with a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The initial uptake coefficients γ are strongly and inversely dependent on the ice temperature. Initial uptake is determined at low surface coverages and ranges from (0.65-3.78)×10(-3). The adsorption uptake of formic acid on pure ice films and on ice lightly doped with HNO(3) is a reversible process, and the adsorption isotherms exhibit Langmuir behaviour. N(max)(1) is (2.94±0.67)×10(14) molecule cm(-2), in good agreement with previous measurements. The temperature dependence of K(Lin) is very well represented by the expression: K(Lin)(1)=(1.43±0.32)×10(-8) exp[(4720±520)/T] cm(3) molecule(-1); the quoted uncertainty is at the 95% level of confidence and includes systematic uncertainties. Formic acid uptakes on ice films highly doped with HNO(3) (53.8 wt%) are two orders of magnitude higher than those measured on pure ice films and irreversible, thus indicating the formation of a supercooled liquid layer on the ice films upon which dissolution of formic acid occurs. Finally, the atmospheric lifetime of formic acid due to heterogeneous loss on cirrus cloud ice particles and the removal of formic acid by adsorption are estimated under conditions related to the upper troposphere.

The adsorption of gaseous acetic acid (CH(3)C(O)OH) on thin ice films and on ice doped with nitric acid (1.96 and 7.69 wt %) was investigated over upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS) temperatures (198-208 K), and at low gas concentrations. Experiments were performed in a Knudsen flow reactor coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The initial uptake coefficients, γ(0), on thin ice films or HNO(3)-doped ice films were measured at low surface coverage. In all cases, γ(0) showed an inverse temperature dependence, and for pure thin ice films, it was given by the expression γ(0)(T) = (4.73 ± 1.13) × 10(-17) exp[(6496 ± 1798)/T]; the quoted errors are the 2σ precision of the linear fit, and the estimated systematic uncertainties are included in the pre-exponential factor. The inverse temperature dependence suggests that the adsorption process occurs via the formation of an intermediate precursor state. Uptakes were well represented by the Langmuir adsorption model, and the saturation surface coverage, N(max), on pure thin ice films was (2.11 ± 0.16) × 10(14) molecules cm(-2), independent of temperature in the range 198-206 K. Light nitration (1.96 and 7.69 wt %) of ice films resulted in more efficient CH(3)C(O)OH uptakes and larger N(max) values that may be attributed to in-bulk diffusion or change in nature of the gas-ice surface interaction. Finally, it was estimated that the rate of adsorption of acetic acid on high-density cirrus clouds in the UT/LS is fast, and this is reflected in the short atmospheric lifetimes (2-8 min) of acetic acid; however, the extent of this uptake is minor resulting in at most a 5% removal of acetic acid in UT/LS cirrus clouds.

The rate coefficient for the possible reaction of OH and NO3 radical with N2O are shown to be, respectively, <1 × 10−17 and <5 × 10−20 cm3 molecule−1 s−1. They are too low to contribute significantly to the atmospheric removal of N2O.

In the current study, the photochemistry of pyrene on solid Al2O3 surface was studied under simulated atmospheric conditions (pressure, 1 atm; temperature, 293 K; photon flux, JNO2 = 0.002-0.012 s(-1)). Experiments were performed using synthetic air or N2 as bath gas to evaluate the impact of O2 to the reaction system. The rate of pyrene photodegradation followed first order kinetics and was enhanced in the presence of O2, kd(synthetic air) = 7.8 ± 0.78 × 10(-2) h(-1) and kd(N2) = 1.2 ± 0.12 × 10(-2) h(-1) respectively, due to the formation of the highly reactive O2(•-) and HO(•) radical species. In addition, kd was found to increase linearly with photon flux. A detailed product study was realized and for the first time the gas/solid phase products of pyrene oxidation were identified using off-line GC-MS and HPLC analysis. In the gas phase, acetone, benzene, and various benzene-ring compounds were determined. In the solid phase, more than 20 photoproducts were identified and their kinetics was followed. Simulation of the concentration profiles of 1- and 2-hydroxypyrene provided an estimation of their yields, 33% and 5.8%, respectively, with respect to consumed pyrene, and their degradation rates were extracted. Finally, the mechanism of heterogeneous photodegradation of pyrene is discussed.