AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Laboratory Studies of α-Pinene Nitate Production and Aerosol Partitioning
JOEL RINDELAUB, Kevin McAvey, Paul Shepson, Purdue University
Abstract Number: 720 Working Group: Aerosol Chemistry
Abstract The oxidation pathways of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) and their respective products are still highly uncertain. One pathway of significance is the formation of organic nitrates, which can lead to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation and may serve as a temporary or a permanent reservoir for NOx. However, connection between organic nitrate production and aerosol phase partitioning and observed aerosol phase concentrations has remained elusive. Through laboratory-based α-pinene oxidation experiments in a photochemical reaction chamber, the total yield of α-pinene-derived nitrates for both the gas and particle phases was determined as a function of seed aerosol acidity and water content. We observe a very strong dependence of the aerosol phase RONO2 yields on humidity, and a highly variable partitioning between the two phases. These experiments will further our understanding of BVOC oxidation pathways, the partitioning of low vapor pressure products into the aerosol phase, and organic nitrate particle phase processing.