Condensation Sink Efficiency of Atmospheric Particles Regulated by Their Chemical Compositions and Hygroscopicity
Abstract Condensation sink (CS) from atmospheric pre-existing particles is a crucial limiting factor for the occurrence of new particle formation (NPF). However, intense NPF events occur frequently in polluted urban areas despite high CS levels. Here, to address this discrepancy, we introduce an efficiency coefficient ε (ε = CSeff/CScal) to quantify the CS efficiency of pre-existing particles toward gaseous H2SO4, where CScal was calculated under the assumption of irreversible uptake. Results demonstrate that ε strongly depends on hygroscopicity and chemical compositions of particles. Under dry conditions, the ε of pure organic particles was less than that of pure inorganic particles, but high humidity increased ε for both. For mixed organic-inorganic particles, the ε was adjusted together by particle chemical compositions and humidity. Exploratory measurements further revealed a decline in CS efficiency for gaseous HIO3. Incorporating ε into field data and models improves cluster survival predictions and sub-3-nm particle formation simulations, potentially explaining the NPF mystery in megacities under high CS and leading to more accurate modeling of NPF impacts.
Authors
- Markku Kulmala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3464-7825)
- Jiayi Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4231-3422)
- Hong‐Bin Xie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9119-9785)
- Wei Du (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7890-3099)
- Douglas R. Worsnop (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8928-8017)
- Jingyu An (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3274-3306)
- Lei Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2680-1629)
- Hugh Coe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3264-1713)
- Runlong Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6630-0896)
- Kaiqi Lai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6632-2622)
- Chuang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5104-4589)
- Lin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4905-3432)
- Chenxi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9388-5375)
- Liu Y (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3901-1652)
- Mingyi Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5782-2513)
- Yi-Xiang Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4021-4228)
- Qiaodi Lu
- Jiaping Wang
- Rongjie Zhang
- Cong An
- Ning Wang
Institutions
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (CN)
- Fudan University (CN)
- Dalian University of Technology (CN)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Aerodyne Research (US)
- Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences (CN)
- Institute of Atmospheric Physics (CN)
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security
- Beijing University of Chemical Technology (CN)
- Nanjing University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Published
- 2026-10-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c07189
- Primary Topic
- Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00