Speciated particle-phase organic nitrates (pONs) were quantified using online chemical ionization MS during June and July of 2013 in rural Alabama as part of the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study. A large fraction of pONs is highly functionalized, possessing between six and eight oxygen atoms within each carbon number group, and is not the common first generation alkyl nitrates previously reported. Using calibrations for isoprene hydroxynitrates and the measured molecular compositions, we estimate that pONs account for 3% and 8% of total submicrometer organic aerosol mass, on average, during the day and night, respectively. Each of the isoprene-and monoterpenes-derived groups exhibited a strong diel trend consistent with the emission patterns of likely biogenic hydrocarbon precursors. An observationally constrained diel box model can replicate the observed pON assuming that pONs (i) are produced in the gas phase and rapidly establish gasparticle equilibrium and (ii) have a short particle-phase lifetime (∼2-4 h). Such dynamic behavior has significant implications for the production and phase partitioning of pONs, organic aerosol mass, and reactive nitrogen speciation in a forested environment. O rganic nitrates (ONs; ON = RONO 2 + RO 2 NO 2 ) are an important reservoir, if not sink, of atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO x = NO + NO 2 ). ONs formed from isoprene oxidation alone are responsible for the export of 8-30% of anthropogenic NO x out of the US continental boundary layer (1, 2). Regional NO x budgets and tropospheric ozone (O 3 ) production are, therefore, particularly sensitive to uncertainties in the yields and fates of ON (3-6). The yields implemented in modeling studies are determined from laboratory experiments, in which only a few of the first generation gaseous ONs or the total gas-phase ONs and particle-phase organic nitrates (pONs) have been quantified, whereas production of highly functionalized ONs capable of strongly partitioning to the particle phase have been inferred (7-11) or directly measured in the gas phase (12). Addition of a nitrate (-ONO 2 ) functional group to a hydrocarbon is estimated to lower the equilibrium saturation vapor pressure by 2.5-3 orders of magnitude (13). Thus, ON formation can enhance particle-phase partitioning of semivolatile species in regions with elevated levels of nitrogen oxides, contributing to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) growth (8). However, highly time-resolved measurements of speciated ON in the particle phase have been lacking.We use a recently developed high-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer (HRToF-CIMS) using iodide-adduct ionization (14) with a filter inlet for gases and aerosols (FIGAERO) (15) that allows alternating in situ measurements of the molecular SignificanceWe present online field observations of the speciated molecular composition of organic nitrates in ambient atmospheric particles utilizing recently developed high-resolution MS-based instrumentation. We find that never-before-identified low-volatility organi...

The secondary organic aerosol (SOA) mass yields from NO3 oxidation of a series of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), consisting of five monoterpenes and one sesquiterpene (α-pinene, β-pinene, Δ-3-carene, limonene, sabinene, and β-caryophyllene), were investigated in a series of continuous flow experiments in a 10 m3 indoor Teflon chamber. By making in situ measurements of the nitrate radical and employing a kinetics box model, we generate time-dependent yield curves as a function of reacted BVOC. SOA yields varied dramatically among the different BVOCs, from zero for α-pinene to 38–65% for Δ-3-carene and 86% for β-caryophyllene at mass loading of 10 μg m–3, suggesting that model mechanisms that treat all NO3 + monoterpene reactions equally will lead to errors in predicted SOA depending on each location’s mix of BVOC emissions. In most cases, organonitrate is a dominant component of the aerosol produced, but in the case of α-pinene, little organonitrate and no aerosol is formed.

Eight distinct hydroxy nitrates are stable products of the first step in the atmospheric oxidation of isoprene by OH. The subsequent chemical fate of these molecules affects global and regional production of ozone and aerosol as well as the location of nitrogen deposition. We synthesized and purified 3 of the 8 isoprene hydroxy nitrate isomers: (E/Z)-2-methyl-4-nitrooxybut-2-ene-1-ol and 3-methyl-2-nitrooxybut-3-ene-1-ol. Oxidation of these molecules by OH and ozone was studied using both chemical ionization mass spectrometry and thermo-dissociation laser induced fluorescence. The OH reaction rate constants at 300 K measured relative to propene at 745 Torr are (1.1 ± 0.2) × 10–10 cm3 molecule–1 s–1 for both the E and Z isomers and (4.2 ± 0.7) × 10–11 cm3 molecule–1 s–1 for the third isomer. The ozone reaction rate constants for (E/Z)-2-methyl-4-nitrooxybut-2-ene-1-ol are (2.7 ± 0.5) × 10–17 and (2.9 ± 0.5) × 10–17 cm3 molecule–1 s–1, respectively. 3-Methyl-2-nitrooxybut-3-ene-1-ol reacts with ozone very slowly, within the range of (2.5–5) × 10–19 cm3 molecule–1 s–1. Reaction pathways, product yields, and implications for atmospheric chemistry are discussed. A condensed mechanism suitable for use in atmospheric chemistry models is presented.

Recent studies suggest that reactions in aqueous microcompartments can occur at significantly different rates than those in the bulk. Most studies have used electrospray to generate a polydisperse source of highly charged microdroplets, leading to multiple confounding factors potentially influencing reaction rates (e.g., evaporation, charge, and size). Thus, the underlying mechanism for the observed enhancement remains unclear. We present a new type of electrodynamic balance-the branched quadrupole trap (BQT)-which can be used to study reactions in microdroplets in a controlled environment. The BQT allows for condensed phase chemical reactions to be initiated by colliding droplets with different reactants and levitating the merged droplet indefinitely. The performance of the BQT is characterized in several ways. Sub-millisecond mixing times as fast as ∼400 μs are measured for low velocity (∼0.1 m/s) collisions of droplets with <40 μm diameters. The reaction of o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) with alanine in the presence of dithiolthreitol is measured using both fluorescence spectroscopy and single droplet paper spray mass spectrometry. The bimolecular rate constant for reaction of alanine with OPA is found to be 84 ± 10 and 67 ± 6 M s in a 30 μm radius droplet and bulk solution, respectively, which demonstrates that bimolecular reaction rate coefficients can be quantified using merged microdroplets and that merged droplets can be used to study rate enhancements due to compartmentalization. Products of the reaction of OPA with alanine are detected in single droplets using paper spray mass spectrometry. We demonstrate that single droplets with <100 pg of analyte can easily be studied using single droplet mass spectrometry.

A key step in the heterogeneous oxidation of atmospheric aerosols is the reaction of ozone (O3) and hydroxyl radicals (OH) at the gas-particle interface. The formation of reaction products and free radical intermediates and their spatial distribution inside the particle is a sensitive function of the length over which these oxidants diffuse prior to reaction. The reactive-diffusive length of OH and ozone at organic aerosol interfaces is determined by observing the change in the effective uptake coefficient for size-selected model aerosols comprising a reactive core and a thin nanometer-sized (0-12 nm) organic shell. The core and shell materials are selected so that they are immiscible and adopt an assumed core-shell configuration. The results indicate a reactive-diffusive length of 1.4 nm for hydroxyl (OH) radicals in squalane and 1.0 nm for ozone in squalene. Measurements for a purely diffusive system allow for an estimate for diffusion constant (1.6 × 10(-6) cm(2)/s) of ozone in squalane to be determined. The reactive-diffusive length offers a simple first order estimate of how shielding of aerosols by immiscible layers can alter estimates of oxidative lifetimes of aerosols in the atmosphere.