Particle Size Distribution Dynamics Can Help Constrain the Phase State of Secondary Organic Aerosol

Environ Sci Technol. 2021 Feb 2;55(3):1466-1476. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c05796. Epub 2021 Jan 8.

Abstract

Particle phase state is a property of atmospheric aerosols that has important implications for the formation, evolution, and gas/particle partitioning of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). In this work, we use a size-resolved chemistry and microphysics model (Statistical Oxidation Model coupled to the TwO Moment Aerosol Sectional (SOM-TOMAS)), updated to include an explicit treatment of particle phase state, to constrain the bulk diffusion coefficient (Db) of SOA produced from α-pinene ozonolysis. By leveraging data from laboratory experiments performed in the absence of a seed and under dry conditions, we find that the Db for SOA can be constrained ((1-7) × 10-15 cm2 s-1 in these experiments) by simultaneously reproducing the time-varying SOA mass concentrations and the evolution of the particle size distribution. Another version of our model that used the predicted SOA composition to calculate the glass-transition temperature, viscosity, and, ultimately, Db (∼10-15 cm2 s-1) of the SOA was able to reproduce the mass and size distribution measurements when we included oligomer formation (oligomers accounted for about a fifth of the SOA mass). Our work highlights the potential of a size-resolved SOA model to constrain the particle phase state of SOA using historical measurements of the evolution of the particle size distribution.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Aerosols
  • Air Pollutants*
  • Monoterpenes*
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Particle Size

Substances

  • Aerosols
  • Air Pollutants
  • Monoterpenes