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Cloud droplet activation through oxidation of organic aerosol influenced by temperature and particle phase state
Author(s) -
Slade Jonathan H.,
Shiraiwa Manabu,
Arangio Andrea,
Su Hang,
Pöschl Ulrich,
Wang Jian,
Knopf Daniel A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl072424
Subject(s) - aerosol , cloud condensation nuclei , particle (ecology) , chemistry , kinetics , radical , phase (matter) , oxidation state , photochemistry , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , catalysis , oceanography , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering , geology
Chemical aging of organic aerosol (OA) through multiphase oxidation reactions can alter their cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity and hygroscopicity. However, the oxidation kinetics and OA reactivity depend strongly on the particle phase state, potentially influencing the hydrophobic‐to‐hydrophilic conversion rate of carbonaceous aerosol. Here, amorphous Suwannee River fulvic acid (SRFA) aerosol particles, a surrogate humic‐like substance (HULIS) that contributes substantially to global OA mass, are oxidized by OH radicals at different temperatures and phase states. When oxidized at low temperature in a glassy solid state, the hygroscopicity of SRFA particles increased by almost a factor of two, whereas oxidation of liquid‐like SRFA particles at higher temperatures did not affect CCN activity. Low‐temperature oxidation appears to promote the formation of highly‐oxygenated particle‐bound fragmentation products with lower molar mass and greater CCN activity, underscoring the importance of chemical aging in the free troposphere and its influence on the CCN activity of OA.