An assessment of vapour pressure estimation methods

In situ measurements of gas-particle partitioning of organic compounds in Fairbanks

Organic compounds were measured in both the gas and particle phases in Fairbanks, Alaska, using a real-time, high-resolution proton transfer reaction-time of flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF MS) during a wintertime campaign. The organic aerosol (OA) was dominated by semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), followed by compounds in the low-volatile bin (LVOCs). Due to the persistently cold conditions, both heavy and highly oxygenated compounds showed a limited shift in partitioning with temperature change. In contrast, some semi-volatile compounds, such as methoxy phenols from wood combustion, presented some partitioning to the particle phase at lower temperatures. Laboratory studies or theoretical efforts rarely explore gas-particle partitioning at extremely low temperatures, and thus, their applicability under complex meteorological conditions remains to be assessed. A comparison of the observed and estimated volatilities at temperatures from 5 to -33 °C revealed a clear disagreement, with higher estimated volatility for light molecules (m/z below 120) and lower volatilities for heavier compounds (m/z above 300) with respect to the observed ones. Our findings from the Fairbanks winter campaign stress the need to extend the breadth of environmentally relevant conditions under which phase partitioning of organic compounds is generally explored.

Species-specific effect of particle viscosity and particle-phase reactions on the formation of secondary organic aerosol

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is a major component of atmospheric fine particulate matter. Both particle viscosity and particle-phase chemistry play a crucial role in the formation and evolution of SOA; however, our understanding on how these two factors together with gas-phase chemistry collectively determine the formation of SOA is still limited. Here we developed a kinetic aerosol multilayer model coupled with gas-phase and particle-phase chemistry to simulate SOA formation. We take the atmospherically important α-pinene + OH oxidation system as an example application of the model. The simulations show that although the particle viscosity has negligible to small influences on the total SOA mass concentration, it strongly changes the concentration and distribution of individual compounds within the particle. This complicated effect of particle viscosity on SOA formation is a combined result of inhibited condensation or evaporation of specific organics due to slowed particle-phase diffusion. Furthermore, the particle-phase reactions alter the volatility and abundance of specific compounds and exacerbate their non-uniform distribution in highly viscous particles. Our results highlight an important species-specific effect of particle viscosity and particle-phase chemistry on SOA formation and demonstrate the capability of our model for quantifying such complicated effects on SOA formation and evolution.

Volatile Organic Compound Metabolism on Early Earth

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) constitute a significant portion of gas-phase metabolites in modern ecosystems and have unique roles in moderating atmospheric oxidative capacity, solar radiation balance, and aerosol formation. It has been theorized that VOCs may account for observed geological and evolutionary phenomena during the Archaean, but the direct contribution of biology to early non-methane VOC cycling remains unexplored. Here, we provide an assessment of all potential VOCs metabolized by the last universal common ancestor (LUCA). We identify enzyme functions linked to LUCA orthologous protein groups across eight literature sources and estimate the volatility of all associated substrates to identify ancient volatile metabolites. We hone in on volatile metabolites with confirmed modern emissions that exist in conserved metabolic pathways and produce a curated list of the most likely LUCA VOCs. We introduce volatile organic metabolites associated with early life and discuss their potential influence on early carbon cycling and atmospheric chemistry.

Towards automated inclusion of autoxidation chemistry in models: from precursors to atmospheric implications

In the last few decades, atmospheric formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) has gained increasing attention due to their impact on air quality and climate. However, methods to predict their abundance are mainly empirical and may fail under real atmospheric conditions. In this work, a close-to-mechanistic approach allowing SOA quantification is presented, with a focus on a chain-like chemical reaction called "autoxidation". A novel framework is employed to (a) describe the gas-phase chemistry, (b) predict the products' molecular structures and (c) explore the contribution of autoxidation chemistry on SOA formation under various conditions. As a proof of concept, the method is applied to benzene, an important anthropogenic SOA precursor. Our results suggest autoxidation to explain up to 100% of the benzene-SOA formed under low-NO x laboratory conditions. Under atmospheric-like day-time conditions, the calculated benzene-aerosol mass continuously forms, as expected based on prior work. Additionally, a prompt increase, driven by the NO3 radical, is predicted by the model at dawn. This increase has not yet been explored experimentally and stresses the potential for atmospheric SOA formation via secondary oxidation of benzene by O3 and NO3.

Nitroaromatic compounds in six major Chinese cities: Influence of different formation mechanisms on light absorption properties

Nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) are important nitrogen organics in aerosol with strong light-absorbing and chemically reactive properties. In this study, NACs in six Chinese megacities, including Harbin (HB), Beijing (BJ), Xi'an (XA), Wuhan (WH), Chengdu (CD), and Guangzhou (GZ), were investigated for understanding their sources, gas-particle partitioning, and impact on BrC absorption properties. The concentrations of ΣNACs in PM2.5 in the six cities ranged from 9.15 to 158.8 ng/m3 in winter and from 2.02 to 9.39 ng/m3 in summer. Nitro catechols (NCs), nitro phenols (NPs), and nitro salicylic acids (NSAs) are the main components in ΣNACs, with NCs being dominant in particulate phase and NPs being dominant in the gas phase. Correlation analysis between different pollutant species revealed that coal and biomass combustions were the major sources of NACs in the northern cities during wintertime, while secondary formation dominated NACs in the southern cities during summertime. The contribution of ΣNACs to brown carbon (BrC) light absorption ranged from 0.85 to 7.98 % during the wintertime and 2.07-6.44 % during the summertime. The mass absorption efficiency at 365 nm (MAE365) were highest for 4-nitrocatechol (4NC, 17.4-89.0 m2/g), 4-methyl-5-nitrocatechol (4M5NC, 15.0-76.9 m2/g), and 4-nitroguaiacol (4NG, 11.7-59.8 m2/g). The formation of NCs and NG through oxidation and nitration of catechol and guaiacol led to a significant increase in aerosol light absorption. In contrast, NPs and NSAs formed by the photonitration and photooxidation in liquid phase showed high polarity but low light absorption ability, and the proportions of (NPs + NSAs) in the light absorption of ΣNACs were lower than 15.3 % in the six megacities.

Automating methods for estimating metabolite volatility

The volatility of metabolites can influence their biological roles and inform optimal methods for their detection. Yet, volatility information is not readily available for the large number of described metabolites, limiting the exploration of volatility as a fundamental trait of metabolites. Here, we adapted methods to estimate vapor pressure from the functional group composition of individual molecules (SIMPOL.1) to predict the gas-phase partitioning of compounds in different environments. We implemented these methods in a new open pipeline called volcalc that uses chemoinformatic tools to automate these volatility estimates for all metabolites in an extensive and continuously updated pathway database: the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) that connects metabolites, organisms, and reactions. We first benchmark the automated pipeline against a manually curated data set and show that the same category of volatility (e.g., nonvolatile, low, moderate, high) is predicted for 93% of compounds. We then demonstrate how volcalc might be used to generate and test hypotheses about the role of volatility in biological systems and organisms. Specifically, we estimate that 3.4 and 26.6% of compounds in KEGG have high volatility depending on the environment (soil vs. clean atmosphere, respectively) and that a core set of volatiles is shared among all domains of life (30%) with the largest proportion of kingdom-specific volatiles identified in bacteria. With volcalc, we lay a foundation for uncovering the role of the volatilome using an approach that is easily integrated with other bioinformatic pipelines and can be continually refined to consider additional dimensions to volatility. The volcalc package is an accessible tool to help design and test hypotheses on volatile metabolites and their unique roles in biological systems.

Modification of cleaning product formulations could improve indoor air quality

Cleaning products contain numerous individual chemicals, which can be liberated on use. These species can react in air to form new chemical species, some of which are harmful to health. This paper uses a detailed chemical model for indoor air chemistry, to understand the chemical reactions that can occur following cleaning, assuming cleaning products with different proportions of limonene, α-pinene, and β-pinene are used. The tests included the pure compounds, 50:50 mixtures and mixtures in proportion to the rates of reaction with ozone and the hydroxyl radical. For the 3 h following cleaning, pure α-pinene was most efficient at producing particles, pure limonene for nitrated organic material, and a 50:50 mixture of β-pinene and limonene for formaldehyde, leading to enhancements of 1.1 μg/m³ , 400 ppt, and 1.8 ppb, respectively, compared to no cleaning. Cleaning in the afternoon enhanced concentrations of secondary pollutants for all the mixtures, owing to higher outdoor and hence indoor ozone compared to the morning. These enhancements in concentrations lasted several hours, despite the cleaning emissions only lasting for 10 min. Doubling the air exchange rate enhanced concentrations of formaldehyde and particulate matter by ~15% while reducing that of nitrated organic material by 13%. Changing product formulations has the potential to change the resulting indoor air quality and consequently, impacts on health.

Calculation of the Vapour Pressure of Organic Molecules by Means of a Group-Additivity Method and Their Resultant Gibbs Free Energy and Entropy of Vaporization at 298.15 K

The calculation of the vapour pressure of organic molecules at 298.15 K is presented using a commonly applicable computer algorithm based on the group-additivity method. The basic principle of this method rests on the complete breakdown of the molecules into their constituting atoms, further characterized by their immediate neighbour atoms. The group contributions are calculated by means of a fast Gauss-Seidel fitting algorithm using the experimental data of 2036 molecules from literature. A ten-fold cross-validation procedure has been carried out to test the applicability of this method, which confirmed excellent quality for the prediction of the vapour pressure, expressed in log(pa), with a cross-validated correlation coefficient Q2 of 0.9938 and a standard deviation σ of 0.26. Based on these data, the molecules' standard Gibbs free energy ΔG°vap has been calculated. Furthermore, using their enthalpies of vaporization, predicted by an analogous group-additivity approach published earlier, the standard entropy of vaporization ΔS°vap has been determined and compared with experimental data of 1129 molecules, exhibiting excellent conformance with a correlation coefficient R2 of 0.9598, a standard error σ of 8.14 J/mol/K and a medium absolute deviation of 4.68%.

Assessing Human Exposure to SVOCs in Materials, Products, and Articles: A Modular Mechanistic Framework

A critical review of the current state of knowledge of chemical emissions from indoor sources, partitioning among indoor compartments, and the ensuing indoor exposure leads to a proposal for a modular mechanistic framework for predicting human exposure to semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs). Mechanistically consistent source emission categories include solid, soft, frequent contact, applied, sprayed, and high temperature sources. Environmental compartments are the gas phase, airborne particles, settled dust, indoor surfaces, and clothing. Identified research needs are the development of dynamic emission models for several of the source emission categories and of estimation strategies for critical model parameters. The modular structure of the framework facilitates subsequent inclusion of new knowledge, other chemical classes of indoor pollutants, and additional mechanistic processes relevant to human exposure indoors. The framework may serve as the foundation for developing an open-source community model to better support collaborative research and improve access for application by stakeholders. Combining exposure estimates derived using this framework with toxicity data for different end points and toxicokinetic mechanisms will accelerate chemical risk prioritization, advance effective chemical management decisions, and protect public health.

Indoor secondary organic aerosols: Towards an improved representation of their formation and composition in models

The formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) indoors is one of the many consequences of the rich and complex chemistry that occurs therein. Given particulate matter has well documented health effects, we need to understand the mechanism for SOA formation indoors and its resulting composition. This study evaluates some uncertainties that exist in quantifying gas-to-particle partitioning of SOA-forming compounds using an indoor detailed chemical model. In particular, we investigate the impacts of using different methods to estimate compound vapour pressures as well as simulating the formation of highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOM) via auto-oxidation on SOA formation indoors. Estimation of vapour pressures for 136 α-pinene oxidation species by six investigated methods led to standard deviations of 28-216%. Inclusion of HOM formation improved model performance across three of the six assessed vapour pressure estimation methods when comparing against experimental data, particularly when the NO2 concentration was relatively high. We also explored the predicted SOA composition using two product classification methods, the first assuming the molecule is dominated by one functionality according to its name, and the second accounting for the fractional weighting of each functional group within a molecule. The SOA composition was dominated by the HOM species when the NO2-to-α-terpineol ratio was high for both product classification methods, as these conditions promoted formation of the nitrate radical and hence formation of HOM monomers. As the NO2-to-α-terpineol ratio decreased, peroxides and acids dominated the simple classification, whereas for the fractional classification, carbonyl and alcohol groups became more important.

Behaviour of traffic emitted semi-volatile and intermediate volatility organic compounds within the urban atmosphere

Particulate matter originated from traffic has attracted major interest over the last few years. The semi-volatile organic component of the particles may evaporate with dispersion away from the emission source, creating vapour which may oxidise to form secondary organic aerosol. Air samples were collected from a street canyon, the adjacent park and an urban background site during the winter-spring period in central London, UK. Emissions of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and intermediate volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) ranging from C₁₀ to C₃₆ in both the gas phase and particle phase were measured by using thermal desorption coupled to comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TD-GC × GC-ToF-MS). Main compound groups identified and quantified were grouped alkanes (n-alkanes and branched alkanes), monocyclic alkanes, bicyclic alkanes and monocyclic aromatics. The carbon preference index (CPI) of n-alkanes was estimated to distinguish the emission sources. Pearson correlations between I/SVOCs and traffic tracers (black carbon, NO_x and benzene) in different locations were compared to analyse the influence of this emission source. The results indicate that while the major emission source at the roadside site is traffic, the lower correlations at background sites are indicative of other source contributions and/or differential reactivity of compounds. Gas-particle phase partitioning of n-alkanes is evaluated and compared between sites. The potential influence of gas phase I/SVOCs upon OH reactivity and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation is estimated and found to be relatively small.

Molecular identification of organic vapors driving atmospheric nanoparticle growth

Particles formed in the atmosphere via nucleation provide about half the number of atmospheric cloud condensation nuclei, but in many locations, this process is limited by the growth of the newly formed particles. That growth is often via condensation of organic vapors. Identification of these vapors and their sources is thus fundamental for simulating changes to aerosol-cloud interactions, which are one of the most uncertain aspects of anthropogenic climate forcing. Here we present direct molecular-level observations of a distribution of organic vapors in a forested environment that can explain simultaneously observed atmospheric nanoparticle growth from 3 to 50 nm. Furthermore, the volatility distribution of these vapors is sufficient to explain nanoparticle growth without invoking particle-phase processes. The agreement between observed mass growth, and the growth predicted from the observed mass of condensing vapors in a forested environment thus represents an important step forward in the characterization of atmospheric particle growth.

Condensation of organic vapors is a main factor controlling the growth of atmospheric particles. Here the authors identify a distribution of organic vapors in a forested environment able to explain nanoparticle growth at the same location, contributing to understanding aerosol climate effects.

Reaction of Perfluorooctanoic Acid with Criegee Intermediates and Implications for the Atmospheric Fate of Perfluorocarboxylic Acids

The reaction of perfluorooctanoic acid with the smallest carbonyl oxide Criegee intermediate, CH₂OO, has been measured and is very rapid, with a rate coefficient of (4.9 ± 0.8) × 10^-10 cm³ s^-1, similar to that for reactions of Criegee intermediates with other organic acids. Evidence is shown for the formation of hydroperoxymethyl perfluorooctanoate as a product. With such a large rate coefficient, reaction with Criegee intermediates can be a substantial contributor to atmospheric removal of perfluorocarboxylic acids. However, the atmospheric fates of the ester product largely regenerate the initial acid reactant. Wet deposition regenerates the perfluorocarboxylic acid via condensed-phase hydrolysis. Gas-phase reaction with OH is expected principally to result in formation of the acid anhydride, which also hydrolyzes to regenerate the acid, although a minor channel could lead to destruction of the perfluorinated backbone.

Coupling of organic and inorganic aerosol systems and the effect on gas-particle partitioning in the southeastern US

Several models were used to describe the partitioning of ammonia, water, and organic compounds between the gas and particle phases for conditions in the southeastern US during summer 2013. Existing equilibrium models and frameworks were found to be sufficient, although additional improvements in terms of estimating pure-species vapor pressures are needed. Thermodynamic model predictions were consistent, to first order, with a molar ratio of ammonium to sulfate of approximately 1.6 to 1.8 (ratio of ammonium to 2× sulfate, RN/2S ≈ 0.8 to 0.9) with approximately 70% of total ammonia and ammonium (NH x ) in the particle. Southeastern Aerosol Research and Characterization Network (SEARCH) gas and aerosol and Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) Monitor for AeRosols and Gases in Ambient air (MARGA) aerosol measurements were consistent with these conditions. CMAQv5.2 regional chemical transport model predictions did not reflect these conditions due to a factor of 3 overestimate of the nonvolatile cations. In addition, gas-phase ammonia was overestimated in the CMAQ model leading to an even lower fraction of total ammonia in the particle. Chemical Speciation Network (CSN) and aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements indicated less ammonium per sulfate than SEARCH and MARGA measurements and were inconsistent with thermodynamic model predictions. Organic compounds were predicted to be present to some extent in the same phase as inorganic constituents, modifying their activity and resulting in a decrease in [H+]air (H+ in μgm-3 air), increase in ammonia partitioning to the gas phase, and increase in pH compared to complete organic vs. inorganic liquid-liquid phase separation. In addition, accounting for nonideal mixing modified the pH such that a fully interactive inorganic-organic system had a pH roughly 0.7 units higher than predicted using traditional methods (pH = 1.5 vs. 0.7). Particle-phase interactions of organic and inorganic compounds were found to increase partitioning towards the particle phase (vs. gas phase) for highly oxygenated (O : C≥0.6) compounds including several isoprene-derived tracers as well as levoglu-cosan but decrease particle-phase partitioning for low O: C, monoterpene-derived species.

Measured Saturation Vapor Pressures of Phenolic and Nitro-aromatic Compounds

Phenolic and nitro-aromatic compounds are extremely toxic components of atmospheric aerosol that are currently not well understood. In this Article, solid and subcooled-liquid-state saturation vapor pressures of phenolic and nitro-aromatic compounds are measured using Knudsen Effusion Mass Spectrometry (KEMS) over a range of temperatures (298-318 K). Vapor pressure estimation methods, assessed in this study, do not replicate the observed dependency on the relative positions of functional groups. With a few exceptions, the estimates are biased toward predicting saturation vapor pressures that are too high, by 5-6 orders of magnitude in some cases. Basic partitioning theory comparisons indicate that overestimation of vapor pressures in such cases would cause us to expect these compounds to be present in the gas state, whereas measurements in this study suggest these phenolic and nitro-aromatic will partition into the condensed state for a wide range of ambient conditions if absorptive partitioning plays a dominant role. While these techniques might have both structural and parametric uncertainties, the new data presented here should support studies trying to ascertain the role of nitrogen containing organics on aerosol growth and human health impacts.

α-Pinene Autoxidation Products May Not Have Extremely Low Saturation Vapor Pressures Despite High O:C Ratios

COSMO-RS (conductor-like screening model for real solvents) and three different group-contribution methods were used to compute saturation (subcooled) liquid vapor pressures for 16 possible products of ozone-initiated α-pinene autoxidation, with elemental compositions C10H16O4-10 and C20H30O10-12. The saturation vapor pressures predicted by the different methods varied widely. COSMO-RS predicted relatively high saturation vapor pressures values in the range of 10(-6) to 10(-10) bar for the C10H16O4-10 "monomers", and 10(-11) to 10(-16) bar for the C20H30O10-12 "dimers". The group-contribution methods predicted significantly (up to 8 order of magnitude) lower saturation vapor pressures for most of the more highly oxidized monomers. For the dimers, the COSMO-RS predictions were within the (wide) range spanned by the three group-contribution methods. The main reason for the discrepancies between the methods is likely that the group-contribution methods do not contain the necessary parameters to accurately treat autoxidation products containing multiple hydroperoxide, peroxy acid or peroxide functional groups, which form intramolecular hydrogen bonds with each other. While the COSMO-RS saturation vapor pressures for these systems may be overestimated, the results strongly indicate that despite their high O:C ratios, the volatilities of the autoxidation products of α-pinene (and possibly other atmospherically relevant alkenes) are not necessarily extremely low. In other words, while autoxidation products are able to adsorb onto aerosol particles, their evaporation back into the gas phase cannot be assumed to be negligible, especially from the smallest nanometer-scale particles. Their observed effective contribution to aerosol particle growth may therefore involve rapid heterogeneous reactions (reactive uptake) rather than effectively irreversible physical absorption.

Experimental determination of the partitioning coefficient of β-pinene oxidation products in SOAs

Measured particle phase concentrations of semi-volatile organic compounds exceed those predicted by absorption equilibrium gas-particle partitioning by orders of magnitude.