A recently developed method to rapidly quantify the elemental composition of bulk organic aerosols (OA) using a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) is improved and applied to ambient measurements. Atomic oxygen-to-carbon (O/C) ratios characterize the oxidation state of OA, and O/C from ambient urban OA ranges from 0.2 to 0.8 with a diurnal cycle that decreases with primary emissions and increases because of photochemical processing and secondary OA (SOA) production. Regional O/C approaches approximately 0.9. The hydrogen-to-carbon (H/C, 1.4--1.9) urban diurnal profile increases with primary OA (POA) as does the nitrogen-to-carbon (N/C, approximately 0.02). Ambient organic-mass-to-organic-carbon ratios (OM/OC) are directly quantified and correlate well with O/C (R2 = 0.997) for ambient OA because of low N/C. Ambient O/C and OM/OC have values consistent with those recently reported from other techniques. Positive matrix factorization applied to ambient OA identifies factors with distinct O/C and OM/OC trends. The highest O/C and OM/OC (1.0 and 2.5, respectively) are observed for aged ambient oxygenated OA, significantly exceeding values for traditional chamber SOA,while laboratory-produced primary biomass burning OA (BBOA) is similar to ambient BBOA, O/C of 0.3--0.4. Hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), a surrogate for urban combustion POA, has the lowest O/C (0.06--0.10), similar to vehicle exhaust. An approximation for predicting O/C from unit mass resolution data is also presented.

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is formed in the atmosphere when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from anthropogenic and biogenic sources are oxidized by reactions with OH radicals, O(3), NO(3) radicals, or Cl atoms to form less volatile products that subsequently partition into aerosol particles. Once in particles, these organic compounds can undergo heterogenous/multiphase reactions to form more highly oxidized or oligomeric products. SOA comprises a large fraction of atmospheric aerosol mass and can have significant effects on atmospheric chemistry, visibility, human health, and climate. Previous articles have reviewed the kinetics, products, and mechanisms of atmospheric VOC reactions and the general chemistry and physics involved in SOA formation. In this article we present a detailed review of VOC and heterogeneous/multiphase chemistry as they apply to SOA formation, with a focus on the effects of VOC molecular structure on the kinetics of initial reactions with the major atmospheric oxidants, the subsequent reactions of alkyl, alkyl peroxy, and alkoxy radical intermediates, and the composition of the resulting products. Structural features of reactants and products discussed include compound carbon number; linear, branched, and cyclic configurations; the presence of C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bonds and aromatic rings; and functional groups such as carbonyl, hydroxyl, ester, hydroxperoxy, carboxyl, peroxycarboxyl, nitrate, and peroxynitrate. The intention of this review is to provide atmospheric chemists with sufficient information to understand the dominant pathways by which the major classes of atmospheric VOCs react to form SOA products, and the further reactions of these products in particles. This will allow reasonable predictions to be made, based on molecular structure, about the kinetics, products, and mechanisms of VOC and heterogeneous/multiphase reactions, including the effects of important variables such as VOC, oxidant, and NO(x) concentrations as well as temperature, humidity, and particle acidity. Such knowledge should be useful for interpreting the results of laboratory and field studies and for developing atmospheric chemistry models. A number of recommendations for future research are also presented.

The role of organic peroxides in secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from reactions of monoterpenes with O3 was investigated in a series of environmental chamber experiments. Reactions were performed with endocyclic (alpha-pinene and delta3-carene) and exocyclic (beta-pinene and sabinene) alkenes in dry and humid air and in the presence of the OH radical scavengers: cyclohexane, 1-propanol, and formaldehyde. A thermal desorption particle beam mass spectrometer was used to probe the identity and volatility of SOA components, and an iodometric-spectrophotometric method was used to quantify organic peroxides. Thermal desorption profiles and mass spectra showed that the most volatile SOA components had vapor pressures similar to pinic acid and that much of the SOA consisted of less volatile species that were probably oligomeric compounds. Peroxide analyses indicated that the SOA was predominantly organic peroxides, providing evidence that the oligomers were mostly peroxyhemiacetals formed by heterogeneous reactions of hydroperoxides and aldehydes. For example, it was estimated that organic peroxides contributed approximately 47 and approximately 85% of the SOA mass formed in the alpha- and beta-pinene reactions, respectively. Reactions performed with different OH radical scavengers indicated that most of the hydroperoxides were formed through the hydroperoxide channel rather than by reactions of stabilized Criegee intermediates. The effect of the OH radical scavenger on the SOA yield was also investigated, and the results were consistent with results of recent experiments and model simulations that support a mechanism based on changes in the [HO2]/[RO2] ratios. These are the first measurements of organic peroxides in monoterpene SOA, and the results have important implications for understanding the mechanisms of SOA formation and the potential effects of atmospheric aerosol particles on the environment and human health.

Organonitrates (ON) are important products of gas-phase oxidation of volatile organic compounds in the troposphere; some models predict, and laboratory studies show, the formation of large, multifunctional ON with vapor pressures low enough to partition to the particle phase. Organosulfates (OS) have also been recently detected in secondary organic aerosol. Despite their potential importance, ON and OS remain a nearly unexplored aspect of atmospheric chemistry because few studies have quantified particulate ON or OS in ambient air. We report the response of a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) to aerosol ON and OS standards and mixtures. We quantify the potentially substantial underestimation of organic aerosol O/C, commonly used as a metric for aging, and N/C. Most of the ONnitrogen appears as NO þ x ions in the AMS, which are typically dominated by inorganic nitrate. Minor organonitrogen ions are observed although their identity and intensity vary between standards. We evaluate the potential for using NO þ x fragment ratios, organonitrogen ions, HNO þ 3 ions, the ammonium balance of the nominally inorganic ions, and comparison to ion-chromatography instruments to constrain the concentrations of ON for ambient datasets, and apply these techniques to a field study in Riverside, CA. OS manifests as separate organic and sulfate components in the AMS with minimal organosulfur fragments and little difference in fragmentation from inorganic sulfate. The low thermal stability of ON and OS likely causes similar detection difficulties for other aerosol mass spectrometers using vaporization and/or ionization techniques with similar or larger energy, which has likely led to an underappreciation of these species.atmospheric chemistry | organic aerosol | organic nitrate | organic sulfate | SOA O rganonitrates (ON, i.e., RONO 2 ) and organosulfates (OS, i.e., ROSO 3 H) are known to be present in secondary organic aerosol (SOA) (1-4), and are a nearly unexplored but potentially important aspect of atmospheric chemistry. The mechanisms behind ON and OS production and aging are poorly understood and generally ignored in models due in part to a lack of measurement approaches. ON have recently been identified as significant components (15-35%) of NO y in the gas-phase (5, 6) and serve as indicators of ozone production (7). Oceans and certain industrial processes directly emit ON, but these are generally short-chain alkyl nitrates that exist only in the gas-phase and constitute a minor fraction of atmospheric ON (6,8). Most atmospheric ON are produced either by photochemical (OH-initiated) or nocturnal (NO 3 -initiated) oxidation reactions of anthropogenic and biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These reactions can produce large, multifunctional ON with vapor pressures potentially low enough to condense and form SOA. During photochemical oxidation of VOCs in the presence of nitrogen oxides, ON are minor products of peroxy radical ðRO 2 Þ þ NO reactions. These reactions produce ON with yields of ...

Gas-wall partitioning of organic compounds (OC) that included C 8 -C 16 n-alkanes and 1-alkenes and C 8 -C 13 2-alcohols and 2-ketones was investigated in two Teflon FEP chambers whose walls were either untreated, oxidized in sunlight, or previously exposed to secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Partitioning was nearly independent of chamber treatment, reversible, and obeyed Henry's law. The fraction of an OC that partitioned to the walls at equilibrium ranged from 0 to ∼65%. Values increased with increasing carbon number within an OC class and for OC with similar vapor pressures increased in the order n-alkanes <1-alkenes <2-alcohols <2-ketones. Estimated time constants for achieving partitioning equilibrium ranged from ∼60 min for n-alkanes to ≤8 min for 2-ketones. The observations are consistent with a sorption mechanism in which OC dissolve into the film but are restricted to the near-surface region by a sharp permeability gradient that develops in response to OC-induced stresses in polymer chains.When the results were analyzed using a model analogous to one commonly employed for gas-particle partitioning, it was estimated that the sorption properties of the chamber walls were equivalent to organic aerosol mass concentrations of 2, 4, 10, and 24 mg m -3 with respect to the partitioning of n-alkanes, 1-alkenes, 2-alcohols, and 2-ketones. These values are up to ∼4 orders of magnitude larger than concentrations used in most laboratory studies of SOA, which are typically 1-10 3 µg m -3 , meaning that if full partitioning equilibrium is established in the chamber then semi-volatile OC will reside overwhelmingly in the chamber walls. Model simulations of gas-particle-wall partitioning were also carried out using the experimental data, and demonstrate quantitatively the large potential effects of Teflon walls on measured yields of gas-phase OC products and SOA.

Reactions of O3 with pure and mixed oleic acid particles and bulk solutions were investigated using a thermal desorption particle beam mass spectrometer. The results provide information on the effect of particle matrix on reaction products, mechanisms, and kinetics. The major aerosol products are alpha-acyloxyalkyl hydroperoxides, secondary ozonides, alpha-alkoxyalkyl hydroperoxides, and oxocarboxylic acids formed primarily through reactions of Criegee intermediates with products or with particle matrix compounds. For example, it is estimated that for the reaction of pure oleic acid particles with O3 the aerosol products consist of approximately 68% organic peroxides, 28% 9-oxononanoic acid, and 4% azelaic acid. Although the reaction rate of pure oleic acid particles corresponds to an atmospheric lifetime of minutes, reactions in liquid/solid particle matrices can be orders of magnitude slower. The peroxide products are relatively stable when exposed to matrices typical of atmospheric particles, indicating that the lifetimes of these compounds in the atmosphere may be long enough to allow for long-range transport.

A particle beam is produced when a particle-laden gas expands through a nozzle into a vacuum. This work discusses the theoretical basis of a novel method for producing highly collimated and tightly focused particle beams. The approach is to pass the particle-laden gas through a series of axisymmetric contractions and enlargements (so-called aerodynamic lenses) before the nozzle expansion. Particles are moved closer to the axis by a lens if the particle sizes are less than a critical value and particles can be confined very closely to the axis by using multiple lenses in series. Since particles close to the axis experience small radial drag forces, they stay close to the axis during nozzle expansion and therefore form a narrow particle beam downstream. The major effects that limit the minimum beam width are Brownian motion and lift forces on particles during the nozzle expansion. Simple theoretical models are developed in this work to estimate the minimum particle beam width set by these effects. While the Brownian-motion effects occur for all types of particles, the lift-force effects only occur for nonspherical particles but are often much greater than the Brownian-motion effects.

International audienceRecent field studies have found large discrepancies in the measured vs. modeled SOA mass loadings in both urban and regional polluted atmospheres. The reasons for these large differences are unclear. Here we revisit a case study of SOA formation in Mexico City described by Volkamer et al. (2006), during a photochemically active period when the impact of regional biomass burning is minor or negligible, and show that the observed increase in OA/1CO is consistent with results from several groups during MILAGRO 2006. Then we use the case study to evaluate three new SOA models: 1) the update of aromatic SOA yields from recent chamber experiments (Ng et al., 2007); 2) the formation of SOA from glyoxal (Volkamer et al., 2007a); and 3) the formation of SOA from primary semivolatile and intermediate volatility species (P-S/IVOC) (Robinson et al., 2007). We also evaluate the effect of reduced partitioning of SOA into POA (Song et al., 2007). Traditional SOA precursors (mainly aromatics) by themselves still fail to produce enough SOA to match the observations by a factor of∼7. The new low-NOx aromatic pathways with very high SOA yields make a very small contribution in this high-NOx urban environment as the RO*2+NO reaction dominates the fate of the RO*2 radicals. Glyoxal contributes several μg m−3 to SOA formation, with similar timing as the measurements. P-S/IVOC are estimated from equilibrium with emitted POA, and introduce a large amount of gas-phase oxidizable carbon that was not in models before. With the formulation in Robinson et al. (2007) these species have a high SOA yield, and this mechanism can close the gap in SOA mass between measurements and models in our case study. However the volatility of SOA produced in the model is too high and the O/C ratio is somewhat lower than observations. Glyoxal SOA helps to bring the O/C ratio of predicted and observed SOA into better agreement. The sensitivities of the model to some key uncertain parameters are evaluated