Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Nov 2020)
Measurements of higher alkanes using NO<sup>+</sup> chemical ionization in PTR-ToF-MS: important contributions of higher alkanes to secondary organic aerosols in China
- C. Wang,
- C. Wang,
- B. Yuan,
- B. Yuan,
- C. Wu,
- C. Wu,
- S. Wang,
- S. Wang,
- J. Qi,
- J. Qi,
- B. Wang,
- Z. Wang,
- Z. Wang,
- W. Hu,
- W. Chen,
- C. Ye,
- W. Wang,
- Y. Sun,
- C. Wang,
- S. Huang,
- S. Huang,
- W. Song,
- X. Wang,
- S. Yang,
- S. Yang,
- S. Zhang,
- S. Zhang,
- W. Xu,
- N. Ma,
- N. Ma,
- Z. Zhang,
- Z. Zhang,
- B. Jiang,
- B. Jiang,
- H. Su,
- Y. Cheng,
- X. Wang,
- X. Wang,
- M. Shao,
- M. Shao
Affiliations
- C. Wang
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- C. Wang
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- B. Yuan
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- B. Yuan
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- C. Wu
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- C. Wu
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- S. Wang
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- S. Wang
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- J. Qi
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- J. Qi
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- B. Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), 250353 Jinan, China
- Z. Wang
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- Z. Wang
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- W. Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 510640 Guangzhou, China
- W. Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 510640 Guangzhou, China
- C. Ye
- State Joint Key Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China
- W. Wang
- State Joint Key Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China
- Y. Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100029 Beijing, China
- C. Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), 250353 Jinan, China
- S. Huang
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- S. Huang
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- W. Song
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 510640 Guangzhou, China
- X. Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Resources Utilization, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 510640 Guangzhou, China
- S. Yang
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- S. Yang
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- S. Zhang
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- S. Zhang
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- W. Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather & Key Laboratory for Atmospheric Chemistry of China Meteorology Administration, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, 100081 Beijing, China
- N. Ma
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- N. Ma
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- Z. Zhang
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- Z. Zhang
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- B. Jiang
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- B. Jiang
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- H. Su
- Multiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz 55128, Germany
- Y. Cheng
- Multiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz 55128, Germany
- X. Wang
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- X. Wang
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- M. Shao
- Institute for Environmental and Climate Research, Jinan University, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- M. Shao
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, 511443 Guangzhou, China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14123-2020
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 20
pp. 14123 – 14138
Abstract
Higher alkanes are a major class of intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs), which have been proposed to be important precursors of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in the atmosphere. Accurate estimation of SOA from higher alkanes and their oxidation processes in the atmosphere is limited, partially due to the difficulty of their measurement. High-time-resolution (10 s) measurements of higher alkanes were performed using NO+ chemical ionization in proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (NO+ PTR-ToF-MS) at an urban site in Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and at a rural site in the North China Plain (NCP). High concentrations were observed in both environments, with significant diurnal variations. At both sites, SOA production from higher alkanes is estimated from their photochemical losses and SOA yields. Higher alkanes account for significant fractions of SOA formation at the two sites, with average contributions of 7.0 % ± 8.0 % in Guangzhou and 9.4 % ± 9.1 % in NCP, which are comparable to or even higher than both single-ring aromatics and naphthalenes. The significant contributions of higher alkanes to SOA formation suggests that they should be explicitly included in current models for SOA formation. Our work also highlights the importance of NO+ PTR-ToF-MS in measuring higher alkanes and quantifying their contributions to SOA formation.