Molecular Speciation of Secondary Organic Aerosol from Various Anthropogenic Hydrocarbons

Gas-to-particle conversion is a ubiquitous process in the atmosphere, understanding its detailed chemistry and physics will allow one to predict the effects of primary gaseous and particulate emissions on airborne particulate matter composition and size. This research proposes to determine the mechanisms of secondary organic aerosol formation in the atmosphere for a number of important anthropogenic hydrocarbons. A 6 m3 outdoor smog chamber will be used to generate organic aerosols for molecular speciation analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Gas-phase photooxidation mechanisms of the parent hydrocarbon will be formulated based on the results from this analysis.