Highly functionalized organic nitrates in the southeast United States: contribution to secondary organic aerosol and reactive nitrogen budgets

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Ben H. Lee
  • Claudia Mohr
  • Felipe D. Lopez-Hilfiker
  • Anna Lutz
  • Mattias Hallquist
  • Lance Lee
  • Paul Romer
  • Ronald C. Cohen
  • Siddharth Iyer
  • Theo Kurtén
  • Weiwei Hu
  • Douglas A. Day
  • Pedro Campuzano-Jost
  • Jose L. Jimenez
  • Lu Xu
  • Nga Lee Ng
  • Hongyu Guo
  • Rodney J. Weber
  • Robert J. Wild
  • Steven S. Brown
  • Abigail Koss
  • Joost de Gouw
  • Kevin Olson
  • Allen H. Goldstein
  • Saewung Kim
  • Kevin McAvey
  • Paul B. Shepson
  • Tim Starn
  • Karsten Baumann
  • Eric S. Edgerton
  • Jiumeng Liu
  • John E. Shilling
  • David O. Miller
  • William Brune
  • Siegfried Schobesberger
  • Emma L. D'Ambro
  • Joel A. Thornton

Speciated particle-phase organic nitrates (pONs) were quantified using online chemical ionization MS during June and July of 2013 in rural Alabama as part of the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study. A large fraction of pONs is highly functionalized, possessing between six and eight oxygen atoms within each carbon number group, and is not the common first generation alkyl nitrates previously reported. Using calibrations for isoprene hydroxynitrates and the measured molecular compositions, we estimate that pONs account for 3% and 8% of total submicrometer organic aerosol mass, on average, during the day and night, respectively. Each of the isoprene- and monoterpenes-derived groups exhibited a strong diel trend consistent with the emission patterns of likely biogenic hydrocarbon precursors. An observationally constrained diel box model can replicate the observed pON assuming that pONs (i) are produced in the gas phase and rapidly establish gas- particle equilibrium and (ii) have a short particle-phase lifetime (2-4 h). Such dynamic behavior has significant implications for the production and phase partitioning of pONs, organic aerosol mass, and reactive nitrogen speciation in a forested environment.

Original languageEnglish
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume113
Issue number6
Pages (from-to)1516-1521
Number of pages6
ISSN0027-8424
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • Biogenic volatile organic compound oxidation, High-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer, Lifetime calculation, Online measurement, Particulate organic nitrates

ID: 234279527