Organic aerosol yields from α-pinene oxidation: bridging the gap between first-generation yields and aging chemistry.

Kaytlin M Henry, Theresa Lohaus, Neil M Donahue

Carnegie Mellon University Department of Chemical Engineering, 5000 Forbes Ave Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.

Environmental science & technology 2012 Nov 20

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Secondary organic aerosol formation from volatile precursors can be thought of as a succession of generations of reaction products. Here, we constrain first-generation SOA formation from the α-pinene + OH reaction and also study SOA formation from α-pinene ozonolysis carried out without an OH scavenger. SOA yields from OH oxidation of α-pinene are significantly higher than SOA yields from ozonolysis including an OH scavenger, and the SOA mass yields for unscavenged ozonolysis generally fall within the range of mass yields for α-pinene ozonolysis under various conditions. Taken together, first-generation product yields parametrized with a volatility basis set fit provide a starting point for atmospheric models designed to simulate both the production and subsequent aging of SOA from this important terpene.

Citation

Kaytlin M Henry, Theresa Lohaus, Neil M Donahue. Organic aerosol yields from α-pinene oxidation: bridging the gap between first-generation yields and aging chemistry. Environmental science & technology. 2012 Nov 20;46(22):12347-54