Kinetics, SOA yields and chemical composition of secondary organic aerosol from β-caryophyllene ozonolysis with and without nitrogen oxides between 213 and 313 K

β-caryophyllene (BCP) is one of the most important sesquiterpenes (SQTs) in the atmosphere, with a large potential contribution to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation mainly from reactions with ozone (O3) and nitrate radicals (NO3). In this work, we study the temperature dependence of the kinetics of BCP ozonolysis, SOA yields, and SOA chemical composition in the dark and in the absence and presence of nitrogen oxides including nitrate radicals (NO3). We cover a temperature range of 213 K – 313 K, representative of tropospheric conditions. The oxidized components in both gas and particle phases were characterized on a molecular level by a Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer equipped with a Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols using iodide as the reagent ion (FIGAERO-iodide-CIMS). The batch mode experiments were conducted in the 84.5 m3 aluminium simulation chamber AIDA at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). In the absence of nitrogen oxides, the temperature-dependent rate coefficient of the endocyclic double bond in BCP reacting with ozone between 243 – 313 K are negatively correlated with temperature, corresponding to the following Arrhenius equation: k = (1.6 ± 0.4) × 10−15 × exp((559 ± 97)/T). The SOA yields increase from 16 ± 5 % to 37 ± 11% with temperatures decreasing from 313 K to 243 K at a total organic particle mass of 10 µg m−3. The variation of the ozonolysis temperature leads to substantial impact on the abundance of individual organic molecules. In the absence of nitrogen oxides, monomers C14-15H22-24O3-7 (37.4 %), dimers C28-30H44-48O5-9 (53.7 %) and trimers C41-44H62-66O9-11 (8.6 %) are abundant in the particle phase at 213 K. At 313 K, we observed more oxidized monomers (mainly C14-15H22-24O6-9, 67.5 %) and dimers (mainly C27-29H42-44O9-11, 27.6 %), including highly oxidized molecules (HOMs, C14H22O7,9, C15H22O7,9 C15H24O7,9) which can be formed via hydrogen shift mechanisms, but no significant trimers. In presence of nitrogen oxides, the organonitrate fraction increased from 3 % at 213 K to 12 % and 49 % at 243 K and 313 K, respectively. Most of the organonitrates were monomers with C15 skeletons and only one nitrate group. Higher oxygenated organonitrates were observed at higher temperatures, with their signal-weighted O : C atomic ratio increasing from 0.41 to 0.51 from 213 K to 313 K. New dimeric and trimeric organic species without nitrogen atoms (C20, C35) were formed in presence of nitrogen oxides at 298–313 K indicating potential new reaction pathways. Overall, our results show that increasing temperatures lead to a relatively small decrease of the rate coefficient of the endocyclic double bond in BCP reacting with ozone, but to a strong decrease in SOA yields. In contrast, the formation of HOMs and organonitrates increases significantly with temperature.

Tropospheric Aqueous-phase Oxidation of Green Leaf Volatiles with Hydroxyl, Sulfate and Nitrate Radicals

<p><strong>Introduction</strong><br> Numerous green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are released into the atmosphere due to the stress, cell damage or wounding. Fog forming over vegetation takes up these compounds, promoting their aqueous-phase oxidation to less volatile compounds. The droplets eventually dry out, leaving behind the secondary organic aerosol (SOA). These pathways are still poorly recognized as potentially novel routes for the formation of atmospheric SOA. Kinetic investigations of GLVs in the gas phase have already been reported by Shalamzari et. al. 2014, Davis et. al. 2011 and many others, while there is no kinetic data on the aqueous phase reactions of selected C6 and C5 GLVs. In the present study, we focussed on the kinetic studies of GLVs with the hydroxyl, sulfate and nitrate radicals as a possible source of aqueous SOA.</p><p><strong>Experimental method</strong><br> The rate constants of reactions of GLVs with atmospherically relevant radicals were studied using a laser flash photolysis-laser long path absorption (LFP-LLPA). Kinetic investigations of GLVs with hydroxyl radicals were performed using competition kinetics, where H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> (2 x 10<sup>-4</sup> mol L<sup>-1</sup>) was used as a radical precursor and KSCN (2 x 10<sup>-5</sup> mol L<sup>-1</sup>) as a reference compound. The method is similar to that introduced by Behar, et al. 1972. Kinetic measurements of sulfate and nitrate radicals with GLVs, were done using a direct flash photolysis method, where sodium persulfate (5 x 10<sup>-4</sup> mol L<sup>-1</sup>) was the precursor in the generation of SO<sub>4</sub><sup>•ꟷ</sup> and sodium nitrate (1 x 10<sup>-1</sup> mol L<sup>-1</sup>) and sodium sulfate (3 x 10<sup>-2</sup> mol L<sup>-1</sup>) were the precursor for the generation of nitrate radicals.</p><p><strong>Conclusions</strong><br> In the present study, we explored the kinetics of aqueous-phase reactions of three GLVs- 1-penten-3-ol, cis-2-hexen-1-ol and 2-E-hexenal - with atmospheric radicals SO<sub>4</sub><sup>•ꟷ</sup>, <sup>•</sup>OH and NO<sub>3</sub><sup>•</sup>. The second-order rate constants were determined for a temperature range of 278 K to 318 K. A weak temperature dependence was observed for the aqueous-phase kinetics of all three GLVs with selected atmospherically relevant radicals. To explain the weak temperature dependence of aqueous-phase reaction of GLVs with atmospheric radicals, rate constants were investigated for the diffusion limitation. The atmospheric significance of the aqueous-phase reaction was evaluated, by calculating aqueous-phase lifetime and their relative rate to the gas phase reactions with respective radicals, which clearly demonstrated their importance above the gas-phase reactions in tropospheric aqueous-phase. The present work is a part of the bigger research project on the aqueous-phase reactions of a series of atmospherically relevant GLVs whereas a next step oxidation products in the aqueous-phase are being investigated at a present stage. </p><p>This project is supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 711859 and by financial resources for science in the years 2017-2021 awarded by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education for the implementation of an international co-financed project. The research project was also partially supported by funding under Project CREATE of European Union’s H2020 and ERASMUS PLUS staff mobility programme.</p>

Oxidative damage of proline residues by nitrate radicals (NO3˙): a kinetic and product study

Kinetic studies in acetonitrile revealed that proline residues in peptides are considerably protected against radical-induced oxidative damage by the neighbouring peptide bonds, compared with the single amino acid.

Aqueous Reactions of Sulfate Radical-Anions with Nitrophenols in Atmospheric Context

Nitrophenols, hazardous environmental pollutants, react promptly with atmospheric oxidants such as hydroxyl or nitrate radicals. This work aimed to estimate how fast nitrophenols are removed from the atmosphere by the aqueous-phase reactions with sulfate radical-anions. The reversed-rates method was applied to determine the relative rate constants for reactions of 2-nitrophenol, 3-nitrophenol, 4-nitrophenol, 2,4-dinitrophenol, and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol with sulfate radical-anions generated by the autoxidation of sodium sulfite catalyzed by iron(III) cations at ~298 K. The constants determined were: 9.08 × 108, 1.72 × 109, 6.60 × 108, 2.86 × 108, and 7.10 × 107 M−1 s−1, respectively. These values correlated linearly with the sums of Brown substituent coefficients and with the relative strength of the O–H bond of the respective nitrophenols. Rough estimation showed that the gas-phase reactions of 2-nitrophenol with hydroxyl or nitrate radicals dominated over the aqueous-phase reaction with sulfate radical-anions in deliquescent aerosol and haze water. In clouds, rains, and haze water, the aqueous-phase reaction of 2-nitrophenol with sulfate radical-anions dominated, provided the concentration of the radical-anions was not smaller than that of the hydroxyl or nitrate radicals. The results presented may be also interesting for designers of advanced oxidation processes for the removal of nitrophenol.