Chemical Mechanisms of Aging of Aerosol Formed from the Reaction of n-Pentadecane with OH Radicals in the Presence of NOx. Aimanant, S. & Ziemann, P., J. Aerosol Science and Technology, 47(x):979-990, 9, 2013.
Chemical Mechanisms of Aging of Aerosol Formed from the Reaction of n-Pentadecane with OH Radicals in the Presence of NOx [pdf]Paper  Chemical Mechanisms of Aging of Aerosol Formed from the Reaction of n-Pentadecane with OH Radicals in the Presence of NOx [link]Website  abstract   bibtex   
The effects of aging via gas-phase oxidation and heterogeneous/multiphase reactions on the composition and volatility of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) were investigated in a series of environmental chamber experiments. SOA was formed from the reaction of n-pentadecane, a C-15 intermediate volatility alkane, with OH radicals in the presence of NOx under conditions corresponding to approximate to 1.5 and approximate to 15h of daytime oxidation, and analyzed using a suite of real-time and offline methods. Functional group analysis indicated that the average number of nitrate, hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, ester, acylperoxynitrate, and methylene groups per C-15 molecule were 0.84, 1.07, 0.25, 0.00, 0.00, 0.00, and 12.84 in less aged SOA and 1.25, 0.69, 0.32, 0.00, 0.33, 0.10, and 12.27 in more aged SOA, and the corresponding O/C, H/C, and N/C ratios determined by offline elemental analysis were 0.32, 2.20, and 0.062, and 0.31, 1.86, and 0.061, respectively, similar to each other and in good agreement with values calculated from functional group composition. Time-dependent SOA yields and temperature-programmed thermal desorption (TPTD) analysis showed that the more aged SOA was much less volatile and more chemically complex, and when combined with particle mass spectra indicated that the major SOA components included 1,4-hydroxynitrates, cyclic hemiacetals (CHA), cyclic hemiacetal nitrates (CHAN), and related compounds, as well as hemiacetal (HA) and acetal oligomers. The effects of aging on functional group composition were due primarily to dehydration of CHA and formation of second- and third-generation products via gas-phase OH radical reactions, whereas SOA volatility was reduced primarily by enhanced formation of HA and acetal oligomers through heterogeneous/multiphase reactions involving these multigeneration products. These results can be explained using well-established gas-phase and heterogeneous/multiphase reaction mechanisms. Copyright 2013 American Association for Aerosol Research

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