Aqueous chemistry and its role in secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation

Abstract. There is a growing understanding that secondary organic aerosol (SOA) can form through reactions in atmospheric waters (i.e., clouds, fogs, and aerosol water). In clouds and wet aerosols, water-soluble organic products of gas-phase photochemistry dissolve into the aqueous phase where they can react further (e.g., with OH radicals) to form low volatility products that are largely retained in the particle phase. Organic acids, oligomers and other products form via radical and non-radical reactions, including hemiacetal formation during droplet evaporation, acid/base catalysis, and reaction of organics with other constituents (e.g., NH4+). This paper provides an overview of SOA formation through aqueous…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: 0630298, OCE-0619608, 0619608
• UE
  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• GA
  Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
• WH
  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• NO
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

  Award: NA07OAR4310279