Organic aerosols comprise hundreds, if not thousands, of distinct chemical compounds. Traditional analytical techniques for analysis of chemical composition lack the ability to completely characterize complex mixtures such as organic aerosol. Until recently, the best available methods could only provide information on selected aerosol compounds, on selected groups of compounds, or on sample-averaged elemental ratios. Such experimental limitations posed significant barriers to understanding the detailed chemical composition of organic aerosols and its atmospheric evolution. The unique HR ESI-MS methods developed in this research are able to not only characterize the organic aerosols average elemental ratios, but also simultaneously obtain information about hundreds or even thousands of individual compounds in organic aerosols. One of the key achievements of this work was the development of new methods for classification of individual compounds in organic aerosols by their functional groups using reactive HR ESI-MS. This contribution made it possible to track organic aerosols throughout their atmospheric evolution via functional group composition and average elemental ratios while still retaining the chemical composition of each individual compound. Other important scientific advances described in this thesis include: complete characterization of the chemical composition of limonene SOA as a function of particle size and reaction time; adaptation of PILS (particle-into-liquid sampler) to the HR ESI-MS platform; chemical characterization of the water soluble component of several types of organic aerosols; the effects of photochemical aging on the water soluble component of limonene SOA through characterization of the optical properties coupled with chemical composition; and investigation of photochemistry of carbonyls in model SOA matrices. The research included in this dissertation reviews the development of unique aerosol characterization tools utilizing the facilities at UCI and the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The research project answered important questions regarding organic aerosol formation, evolution, and chemical composition that impact the direct and indirect influences of aerosols on Earth's climate.
Aerosols can substantially impact human health, atmospheric chemistry, and climate. The composition and photochemistry of a variety of anthropogenic and biogenic primary and secondary organic aerosols (POA and SOA) have yet to be fully characterized. The composition of organic aerosols is extremely complex - they contain a variety of highly oxidized, multifunctional, low vapor pressure organic compounds. The primary focus of this thesis is on the molecular characterization of organic aerosols that are not well understood or have not been studied before, such as primary emissions from electronic cigarettes, iron (III) mediated SOA, and photooxidized biodiesel and diesel fuel SOA. Another focus of this dissertation is the effect of direct photochemical aging on the composition of organic aerosol. Direct photolysis experiments were first applied to a system that is known to have a photolabile composition, alpha-pinene ozonolysis SOA, such that characterization of a photochemical effect would be possible to quantify. Photolysis of more complex SOA that have not been studied before, photooxidized biodiesel and diesel fuel SOA, were also investigated in this thesis. Advanced high resolution mass spectrometry techniques were used in the molecular characterization of organic aerosols, including nano-Desorption Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (nano-DESI) and Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FTICR). An additional suite of online instrumentation was used to measure gas-phase composition, particle-phase composition, particle size and concentration, and absorption properties: Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS), Aerosol Mass Spectrometry (ToF-AMS), Scanning Mobility Particle Sizing (SMPS), and UV-vis spectroscopy. The molecular analysis of these aerosols provides valuable insight to the formation and photochemical behavior of unexpected, polymeric, light absorbing, and unique organosulfur species.
Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is formed and transformed in atmospheric aqueous phases (e.g., cloud and fog droplets and deliquesced airborne particles containing small amounts of water) through a multitude of chemical and physical processes. Understanding the formation and transformation processes of SOA via aqueous-phase reactions is important for properly presenting its atmospheric evolution pathways in models and for elucidating its climate and health effects. Phenolic compounds, which are emitted in significant amounts from biomass burning, can undergo fast reactions in atmospheric aqueous phases to form secondary organic aerosol (aqSOA). In this study, we investigate the formation and evolution of phenol (C6H6O), guaiacol (C7H8O2; 2-methoxyphenol) and syringol (C8H10O3; 2,6-dimethoxyphenol) and with two major aqueous phase oxidants -- the triplet excited state of an aromatic carbonyl (3C*) and hydroxyl radical (·OH) - and interpret the reaction mechanisms. In addition, given that dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important component of fog and cloud water and that it can undergo aqueous reactions to form more oxidized, less volatile species, we further investigate the photochemical processing of DOM in fog water to gain insights into the aqueous-phase processing of organic aerosol (OA) in the atmosphere. In Chapter 2, we thoroughly characterize the bulk chemical and molecular compositions of phenolic aqSOA formed at half-life (t[subscript 1/2]), and interpret the formation mechanisms. We find that phenolic aqSOA formed at t[subscript 1/2] is highly oxygenated with atomic oxygen-to-carbon ratio (O/C) in the range of 0.85-1.23. Dimers, higher oligomers (up to hexamers), functionalized monomers and oligomers with carbonyl, carboxyl, and hydroxyl groups, and small organic acids are detected. Compared with ·OH-mediated reactions, reactions mediated by 3C* are faster and produce more oligomers and hydroxylated species at t[subscript1/2]. We also find that aqSOA shows enhanced light absorption in the UV-vis region, suggesting that aqueous-phase reactions of phenols are an important source of secondary brown carbon in the atmosphere, especially in regions impacted by biomass burning. In Chapter 3, we investigate the chemical evolution of phenolic aqSOA via aqueous-phase reactions on the molecular level and interpret the aging mechanisms. Our results indicate that oligomerization is an important aqueous reaction pathway for phenols, especially during the initial stage of photooxidation. Functionalization and fragmentation become dominant at later stages, forming a variety of functionalized aromatic and ring-opening products with higher carbon oxidation states. Fragmentation reactions eventually dominate the photochemical evolution of phenolic aqSOA, forming a large number of highly oxygenated ring-opening molecules. In addition, phenolic aqSOA has a wide range of saturation vapor pressures (C*), varying from 10−20 [mu]g m−3 for functionalized phenolic oligomers to 10 [mu]g m−3 for ring-opening species with number of carbon less than 6. The detection of abundant extremely low volatile organic compounds (ELVOC) indicates that aqueous reactions of phenolic compounds are likely an important source of ELVOC in the atmosphere. Chapter 3 investigates the molecular transformation with aging based on the characterization of three aqSOA filter samples collected at the defined time intervals of the photoreaction. However, the chemical evolution of aqSOA products with hours of illumination at a higher time resolution is largely unknown. In Chapter 4, we investigate the chemical evolution of aqSOA at a 1-min time resolution based on high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) analysis. This is important for understanding the continuous evolution of phenolic aqSOA with aging as well as for elucidating the formation and transformation of different generations of products. Our results suggest that dimer and higher-order oligomers (trimers, tetramers, etc.) are formed continuously during the first 1-2 hours of photoreaction but show a gradual decrease afterwards. Functionalized derivatives grow at a later time and then gradually decrease. Highly oxidized ring-opening species continuously increase over the course of reactions. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of the AMS spectra of phenolic aqSOA identifies multiple factors, representing different generations of products. The 1st-generation products include dimers, higher-order oligomers and their oxygenated derivatives. The 2nd-generation products include oxygenated monomeric derivatives. The 3rd-generation products include highly oxidized ring-opening species. In Chapter 5, we investigate the evolution of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in fog water. Our results show that the mass concentration of DOM[subscript OA] (i.e., low-volatility DOM in fog water) is enhanced over the course of illumination, with continuous increase of O/C and atomic nitrogen-to-carbon ratio (N/C). The increase of DOM[subscript OA] is due to the incorporation of oxygen- and nitrogen-containing functional groups into the molecules. The aqueous aging of DOM[subscript OA] can be modeled as a linear combination of the dynamic variations of 3 factors using PMF analysis. Factor 1 is chemically similar to the DOM[subscript OA] before illumination, which is quickly reacted away. Factor 2 is representative of an intermediate component, which is first formed and then transformed, and O/C of Factor 2 is intermediate between that of Factor 1 and Factor 3. Factor 3 represents highly oxidized final products, which is continuously formed during illumination. Fog DOM absorbs significantly in the tropospheric sunlight wavelengths, but this absorption behavior stays almost constant over the course of illumination, despite the significant change in chemical composition.
This book highlights new cross-disciplinary advances in aerosol chemistry that involve more than one phase, for example, unique chemical processes occurring on gas-solid and liquid-solid interfaces.
Atmospheric organic aerosols have a significant impact on climate and human health. However, our understanding of the physical and chemical properties of these aerosols is inadequate, thus their climate and health influences are poorly constrained. In this study, we investigated the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from OH-initiated oxidation of -pinene. The majority of experiments were conducted in the York University smog chamber. The main objective was to identify the gas and particle phase products with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometer (APCI-MS/MS). A wide variety of products were identified containing various functional groups including alcohol, aldehyde, carboxylic acid, ketone and nitrate. Following the chemical composition characterization of products, the shape, phase state and density of generated particles were determined. Images from a scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed that SOA particles from -pinene were commonly spherical in shape, and adopted an amorphous semi-solid/liquid state. Additionally, the density was determined for SOA particles generated from -pinene/OH, nopinone/OH and nopinone/NO3 experiments for the first time using a tapered element oscillating microbalance-scanning mobility particle sizer (TEOM-SMPS) method. Our results showed a correlation between the determined particle density and the particle chemical composition of the respective system. This demonstrates that changes in particle density can be indicative of the changes in chemical composition of particles. We also investigated the chemical aging of oxidation products by exposing them to additional OH radicals or ozone. The observed changes in chemical composition of products and additional SOA mass production during OH-induced aging were attributed to further oxidation of gas phase intermediate products. The NOx dependence of SOA formation from -pinene photooxidation was investigated in the York University smog chamber and the Jlich Plant Atmosphere Chamber (JPAC). Consistent with previous NOx studies, SOA yields increased with increasing [NOx] at low-NOx conditions, whereas increasing [NOx] at high-NOx conditions suppressed the SOA yield. This increase was attributed to an increase of OH concentration. After removing the effect of [OH] on SOA yield in the JPAC, SOA yields only decreased with increasing [NOx]. Finally, the formation mechanisms of identified products were probed based on the information acquired throughout our study.
Atmospheric aerosols represent one of the greatest uncertainties in predicting the Earth's future climate. Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) are particularly complicated because they are highly susceptible to change upon exposure to different conditions, such as varying temperatures and relative humidities (RHs), sunlight, and different atmospheric pollutants. The goal of this work was to increase our understanding of the contribution of SOA to the Earth's radiation budget by exploring how different environmental conditions can affect aerosol properties and processes.The first project investigated the effect of viscosity on photochemical kinetics of probe molecules embedded in laboratory-generated SOA. Temperature and RH of the system were varied independently to adjust the viscosity of the SOA and the samples were irradiated. At lower temperatures and humidities both systems exhibited lower photoreaction rates, suggesting that increased viscosity hinders the motion of the molecules in the SOA slowing down their photochemical reactions. This means that molecules trapped inside SOA in cold, dry parts of the atmosphere will photodegrade slower than in warm and humid areas.The next stage of this work was to study the effect of RH on the mass loading and composition of SOA formed from toluene photooxidation. When the RH was increased from 0% to 75%, the yield of toluene SOA made under low NOx conditions decreased by an order of magnitude. High resolution mass spectrometry revealed a significant reduction in the fraction of oligomers present in the SOA made under humid conditions compared to dry conditions. These results suggest that water vapor suppresses oligomer formation in low NOx toluene SOA, reducing aerosol yield. This means that concentrations of toluene SOA in the atmosphere will be dependent on the RH and NOx concentrations.The last stage of this work investigated the interaction between SOA and ammonia. SOA made from toluene, n-hexadecane, or limonene in a chamber was exposed to gaseous ammonia while the mass loading and composition was monitored. These experiments indicated that ammonia could be taken up into SOA, leaving less ammonia in the atmosphere to neutralize atmospheric acids. This leads to a reduction of inorganic aerosols in the atmosphere.
The photooxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere can lead to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), a major component of fine particulate matter. Improvements to air quality require insight into the many reactive intermediates that lead to SOA formation, of which only a small fraction have been measured at the molecular level. This thesis describes the chemistry of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from several atmospherically relevant hydrocarbon precursors. Photooxidation experiments of methoxyphenol and phenolic compounds and C12 alkanes were conducted in the Caltech Environmental Chamber. These experiments include the first photooxidation studies of these precursors run under sufficiently low NOx levels, such that RO2 + HO2 chemistry dominates, an important chemical regime in the atmosphere. Using online Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometery (CIMS), key gas-phase intermediates that lead to SOA formation in these systems were identified. With complementary particle-phase analyses, chemical mechanisms elucidating the SOA formation from these compounds are proposed. Three methoxyphenol species (phenol, guaiacol, and syringol) were studied to model potential photooxidation schemes of biomass burning intermediates. SOA yields (ratio of mass of SOA formed to mass of primary organic reacted) exceeding 25% are observed. Aerosol growth is rapid and linear with the organic conversion, consistent with the formation of essentially non-volatile products. Gas and aerosol-phase oxidation products from the guaiacol system show that the chemical mechanism consists of highly oxidized aromatic species in the particle phase. Syringol SOA yields are lower than that of phenol and guaiacol, likely due to unique chemistry dependent on methoxy group position. The photooxidation of several C12 alkanes of varying structure n-dodecane, 2-methylundecane, cyclododecane, and hexylcyclohexane) were run under extended OH exposure to investigate the effect of molecular structure on SOA yields and photochemical aging. Peroxyhemiacetal formation from the reactions of several multifunctional hydroperoxides and aldehyde intermediates was found to be central to organic growth in all systems, and SOA yields increased with cyclic character of the starting hydrocarbon. All of these studies provide direction for future experiments and modeling in order to lessen outstanding discrepancies between predicted and measured SOA.
