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The phase transitions and hygroscopic growth of two humic acid aerosols (Aldrich sodium salt and Leonardite Standard (IHSS)) and their mixtures with ammonium sulphate have been investigated using a combination of two techniques, Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy and tandem differential mobility analysis (TDMA). A growth factor of 1.16 at 85% relative humidity (RH) was found for the Aldrich humic acid which can be regarded as an upper limit for growth factors of humic-like substances (HULIS) found in atmospheric aerosol and is significantly smaller than that of typical atmospheric inorganics. We find that the humic acid aerosols exhibit water uptake over all relative humidities with no apparent phase changes, suggesting that these aerosols readily form supersaturated droplets. In the mixed particles, the humic acid component decreases the deliquescence relative humidity (DRH) and increases the efflorescence relative humidity (ERH) of the ammonium sulphate component, and there is some degree of water uptake prior to ammonium sulphate deliquescence. In addition, at low RH, the FTIR spectra show that the ammonium is present in a different chemical environment in the mixed aerosols than in crystalline ammonium sulphate, perhaps existing as a complex with the humic materials. The growth factors of the mixed aerosols are intermediate between those of the single-component aerosols and can be predicted assuming that the inorganic and organic fractions take up water independently.

The kinetics of reactive uptake of N2O5 on submicron aerosol particles containing humic acid and ammonium sulfate has been investigated as a function of relative humidity (RH) and aerosol composition using a laminar flow reactor coupled with a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) to characterize the aerosol. For single-component humic acid aerosol the uptake coefficient, gamma, was found to increase from 2 to 9 x 10(-4) over the range 25-75% RH. These values are 1-2 orders of magnitude below those typically observed for single-component sulfate aerosols (Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2003, 5, 3453-3463;(1) Atmos. Environ. 2000, 34, 2131-2159(2)). For the mixed aerosols, gamma was found to decrease with increasing humic acid mass fraction and increase with increasing RH. For aerosols containing only 6% humic acid by dry mass, a decrease in reactivity of more than a factor of 2 was observed compared with the case for single-component ammonium sulfate. The concentration of liquid water in the aerosol droplets was calculated using the aerosol inorganic model (for the ammonium sulfate component) and a new combined FTIR-DMA system (for the humic acid component). Analysis of the uptake coefficients using the water concentration data shows that the change in reactivity cannot be explained by the change in water content alone. We suggest that, due to its surfactant properties, the main effect of the humic acid is to reduce the mass accommodation coefficient for N2O5 at the aerosol particle surface. This has implications for the use of particle hygroscopicity data for predictions of the rate of N2O5 hydrolysis.

Reactive uptake coefficients for loss of N(2)O(5) to micron-size aerosols containing oxalic malonic, succinic, and glutaric acids, and mixtures with ammonium hydrogen sulfate and ammonium sulfate, are presented. The uptake measurements were made using two different systems: atmospheric pressure laminar flow tube reactor (Cambridge) and the Large Indoor Aerosol Chamber at Forschungszentrum Juelich. Generally good agreement is observed for the data recorded using the two techniques. Measured uptake coefficients lie in the range 5 x 10(-4)-3 x 10(-2), dependent on relative humidity, on particle phase, and on particle composition. Uptake to solid particles is generally slow, with observed uptake coefficients less than 1 x 10(-3), while uptake to liquid particles is around an order of magnitude more efficient. These results are rationalized using a numerical model employing explicit treatment of both transport and chemistry. Our results indicate a modest effect of the dicarboxylic acids on uptake and confirm the strong effect of particle phase, liquid water content, and particulate nitrate concentrations.