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The photochemistry of pyruvic acid (PA) in aqueous atmospheric particles contributes to the production of secondary organic aerosols. This work investigates the fate of ketyl and acetyl radicals pr...

Anthropogenic emissions of aromatic hydrocarbons promptly react with hydroxyl radicals undergoing oxidation to form phenols and polyphenols (e.g., catechol) typically identified in the complex mixture of humic-like substances (HULIS). Because further processing of polyphenols in secondary organic aerosols (SOA) can continue mediated by a mechanism of ozonolysis at interfaces, a better understanding about how these reactions proceed at the air-water interface is needed. This work shows how catechol, a molecular probe of the oxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons present in SOA, can contribute interfacial reactive species that enhance the production of HULIS under atmospheric conditions. Reactive semiquinone radicals are quickly produced upon the encounter of 40 ppbv-6.0 ppmv O3(g) with microdroplets containing [catechol] = 1-150 μM. While the previous pathway results in the instantaneous formation of mono- and polyhydroxylated aromatic rings (PHA) and chromophoric mono- and polyhydroxylated quinones (PHQ), a different channel produces oxo- and dicarboxylic acids of low molecular weight (LMW). The cleavage of catechol occurs at the 1,2 carbon-carbon bond at the air-water interface through the formation of (1) an ozonide intermediate, (2) a hydroperoxide, and (3) cis,cis-muconic acid. However, variable [catechol] and [O3(g)] can affect the ratio of the primary products (cis,cis-muconic acid and trihydroxybenzenes) and higher order products observed (PHA, PHQ, and LMW oxo- and dicarboxylic acids). Secondary processing is confirmed by mass spectrometry, showing the production of crotonic, maleinaldehydic, maleic, glyoxylic, and oxalic acids. The proposed pathway can contribute precursors to aqueous SOA (AqSOA) formation, converting aromatic hydrocarbons into polyfunctional species widely found in tropospheric aerosols with light-absorbing brown carbon.

Halides are incorporated into aerosol sea spray, where they start the catalytic destruction of ozone (O3) over the oceans and affect the global troposphere. Two intriguing environmental problems undergoing continuous research are (1) to understand how reactive gas phase molecular halogens are directly produced from inorganic halides exposed to O3 and (2) to constrain the environmental factors that control this interfacial process. This paper presents a laboratory study of the reaction of O3 at variable iodide (I(-)) concentration (0.010-100 μM) for solutions aerosolized at 25 °C, which reveal remarkable differences in the reaction intermediates and products expected in sea spray for low tropospheric [O3]. The ultrafast oxidation of I(-) by O3 at the air-water interface of microdroplets is evidenced by the appearance of hypoiodous acid (HIO), iodite (IO2(-)), iodate (IO3(-)), triiodide (I3(-)), and molecular iodine (I2). Mass spectrometry measurements reveal an enhancement (up to 28%) in the dissolution of gaseous O3 at the gas-liquid interface when increasing the concentration of NaI or NaBr from 0.010 to 100 μM. The production of iodine species such as HIO and I2 from NaI aerosolized solutions exposed to 50 ppbv O3 can occur at the air-water interface of sea spray, followed by their transfer to the gas-phase, where they contribute to the loss of tropospheric ozone.