UV photodissociation spectroscopy of oxidized undecylenic acid films

Oxidation of thin multilayered films of undecylenic (10-undecenoic) acid by gaseous ozone was investigated using a combination of spectroscopic and mass spectrometric techniques. The UV absorption spectrum of the oxidized undecylenic acid film is significantly red-shifted compared to that of the initial film. Photolysis of the oxidized film in the tropospheric actinic region (lambda > 295 nm) readily produces formaldehyde and formic acid as gas-phase products. Photodissociation action spectra of the oxidized film suggest that organic peroxides are responsible for the observed photochemical activity. The presence of peroxides is confirmed by mass-spectrometric analysis of the oxidized sample and an iodometric test. Significant polymerization resulting from secondary reactions of Criegee radicals during ozonolysis of the film is observed. The data strongly imply the importance of photochemistry in aging of atmospheric organic aerosol particles.     

Photochemical aging of α-pinene secondary organic aerosol: effects of OH radical sources and photolysis

This study addresses photochemical aging of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) produced from α-pinene ozonolysis. The SOA is aged via hydroxyl radical (OH) reactions with first-generation vapors and UV photolysis. OH radicals are created through tetramethylethylene ozonolysis, HOOH photolysis, or HONO photolysis, sources that vary in OH concentration and the presence or absence of UV illumination. Aging strongly influences observed SOA mass concentrations, but the behavior is complex. In the dark or with high concentrations of OH, vapors are functionalized, lowering their volatility, resulting in an increase in OA by a factor of 2-3. However, with lower concentrations of OH under UV illumination SOA mass concentrations decrease over time. We attribute this decrease to evaporation driven by photolysis of the highly functionalized second-generation products. The photolysis rates are rapid, a few percent of the NO(2) photolysis frequency, and can thus be highly competitive with other aging mechanisms in the atmosphere.     

Direct measurement of Criegee intermediate (CH2OO) reactions with acetone, acetaldehyde, and hexafluoroacetone

Criegee biradicals, i.e., carbonyl oxides, are critical intermediates in ozonolysis and have been implicated in autoignition chemistry and other hydrocarbon oxidation systems, but until recently the direct measurement of their gas-phase kinetics has not been feasible. Indirect determinations of Criegee intermediate kinetics often rely on the introduction of a scavenger molecule into an ozonolysis system and analysis of the effects of the scavenger on yields of products associated with Criegee intermediate reactions. Carbonyl species, in particular hexafluoroacetone (CF(3)COCF(3)), have often been used as scavengers. In this work, the reactions of the simplest Criegee intermediate, CH(2)OO (formaldehyde oxide), with three carbonyl species have been measured by laser photolysis/tunable synchrotron photoionization mass spectrometry. Diiodomethane photolysis produces CH(2)I radicals, which react with O(2) to yield CH(2)OO + I. The formaldehyde oxide is reacted with a large excess of a carbonyl reactant and both the disappearance of CH(2)OO and the formation of reaction products are monitored. The rate coefficient for CH(2)OO + hexafluoroacetone is k(1) = (3.0 ± 0.3) × 10(-11) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), supporting the use of hexafluoroacetone as a Criegee-intermediate scavenger. The reactions with acetaldehyde, k(2) = (9.5 ± 0.7) × 10(-13) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), and with acetone, k(3) = (2.3 ± 0.3) × 10(-13) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), are substantially slower. Secondary ozonides and products of ozonide isomerization are observed from the reactions of CH(2)OO with acetone and hexafluoroacetone. Their photoionization spectra are interpreted with the aid of quantum-chemical and Franck-Condon-factor calculations. No secondary ozonide was observable in the reaction of CH(2)OO with acetaldehyde, but acetic acid was identified as a product under the conditions used (4 Torr and 293 K).     

Secondary organic aerosol formation from limonene ozonolysis: homogeneous and heterogeneous influences as a function of NO(x)

Limonene has a high emission rate both from biogenic sources and from household solvents. Here we examine the limonene + ozone reaction as a source for secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Our data show that limonene has very high potential to form SOA and that NO(x) levels, O(3) levels, and UV radiation all influence SOA formation. High SOA formation is observed under conditions where both double bonds in limonene are oxidized, but those conditions depend strongly on NO(x). At low NO(x), heterogeneous oxidation of the terminal double bond follows the initial limonene ozonolysis (at the endocyclic double bond) almost immediately, making the initial reaction rate limiting. This requires a high uptake coefficient between ozone and the first-generation, unsaturated organic particles. However, at high NO(x), this heterogeneous processing is inhibited and gas-phase oxidation of the terminal double bond dominates. Although this chemistry is slower, it also yields products with low volatility. UV light suppresses production of the lowest volatility products, as we have shown in earlier studies of the alpha-pinene + ozone reaction.     

Ozonolysis of phospholipid double bonds during electrospray ionization: a new tool for structure determination

Ozonolysis of double bonds is observed during the negative ion electrospray ionization of unsaturated phospholipids under conditions that produce a corona discharge. Ionic products of the ozonolysis are detected and characterized by mass spectrometry, and the mass-to-charge ratio of these species can be used to unambiguously assign the double bond position within the unsaturated fatty acid radyls. The reaction products are consistent with the gas-phase ozonolysis of desolvated phospholipid ions in an atmosphere rich in volatilized solvent. Reactions may be carried out in a conventional electrospray ionization mass spectrometer and provide a new method for the structural characterization of phospholipids.     

Pressure dependent mechanistic branching in the formation pathways of secondary organic aerosol from cyclic-alkene gas-phase ozonolysis

The gas-phase ozonolysis of cyclic-alkenes (1-methyl-cyclohexene, methylene-cyclohexane, α-pinene, β-pinene) is studied with respect to the pressure dependent formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). We find that SOA formation is substantially suppressed at lower pressures for all alkenes under study. The suppression coincides with the formation of ketene (α-pinene, 1-methyl-cyclohexene), ethene (1-methyl-cyclohexene) and the increased formation of CO (all alkenes) at lower reaction pressures. The formation of these products is independent of the presence of an OH scavenger and explained by an increased chemical activation of intermediate species in the hydroperoxide channel after the OH elimination. These findings underline the central role of the hydroperoxide pathway for SOA formation and give insight into the gas-phase ozonolysis mechanism after the stage of the Criegee intermediate chemistry.     

Formation of secondary ozonides in the gas-phase ozonolysis of simple alkenes

Secondary propene ozonide and isobutene ozonide were formed in the gas-phase ozonolysis of ethene with added acetaldehyde and acetone, respectively. Combined with the formation of hydroperoxymethyl formate and methoxymethyl hydroperoxide in the ethene-ozone reaction system in the presence of HCOOH and CH₃OH, respectively, formation of the secondary ozonides reveals a close similarity between the gas-phase and the liquid-phase ozonolysis of alkenes.     

Multifunctional acid formation from the gas-phase ozonolysis of beta-pinene

The gas-phase ozonolysis of beta-pinene was studied in static chamber experiments, using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometric and flame ionisation detection to separate and detect products. A range of multifunctional organic acids-including pinic acid, norpinic acid, pinalic-3-acid, pinalic-4-acid, norpinalic acid and OH-pinalic acid-were identified in the condensed phase after derivatisation. Formation yields for these products under systematically varying reaction conditions (by adding different OH radical scavengers and Criegee intermediate scavengers) were investigated and compared with those observed from alpha-pinene ozonolysis, allowing detailed information on product formation mechanisms to be elucidated. In addition, branching ratios for the initial steps of the reaction were inferred from quantitative measurements of primary carbonyl formation. Atmospheric implications of this work are discussed.     

Infrared-matrix and microwave spectroscopy of the ethylene-ozone gas-phase reaction

Besides well-known products of the gas-phase ozonolysis of ethylene, formic anhydride, glycolaldehyde, ethylene oxide, acetaldehyde and methanol have been detected by combined linear-reactor—infrared-matrix and microwave spectroscopy. Possible reaction mechanisms based on ab-initio and estimated thermochemical data are suggested taking into account the newly observed molecules.     

Photodegradation of Riboflavin under Alkaline Conditions: What Can Gas-Phase Photolysis Tell Us about What Happens in Solution?

The application of electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) as a direct method for detecting reactive intermediates is a technique of developing importance in the routine monitoring of solution-phase reaction pathways. Here, we utilise a novel on-line photolysis ESI-MS approach to detect the photoproducts of riboflavin in aqueous solution under mildly alkaline conditions. Riboflavin is a constituent of many food products, so its breakdown processes are of wide interest. Our on-line photolysis setup allows for solution-phase photolysis to occur within a syringe using UVA LEDs, immediately prior to being introduced into the mass spectrometer via ESI. Gas-phase photofragmentation studies via laser-interfaced mass spectrometry of deprotonated riboflavin, [RF − H]⁻, the dominant solution-phase species under the conditions of our study, are presented alongside the solution-phase photolysis. The results obtained illustrate the extent to which gas-phase photolysis methods can inform our understanding of the corresponding solution-phase photochemistry. We determine that the solution-phase photofragmentation observed for [RF − H]⁻ closely mirrors the gas-phase photochemistry, with the dominant m/z 241 condensed-phase photoproduct also being observed in gas-phase photodissociation. Further gas-phase photoproducts are observed at m/z 255, 212, and 145. The value of exploring both the gas- and solution-phase photochemistry to characterise photochemical reactions is discussed.     

Infrared Detection of Criegee Intermediates Formed during the Ozonolysis of β‐Pinene and Their Reactivity towards Sulfur Dioxide

Recently, direct kinetic experiments have shown that the oxidation of sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide by reaction with stabilized Criegee intermediates (CIs) is an important source of sulfuric acid in the atmosphere. So far, only small CIs, generated in photolysis experiments, have been directly detected. Herein, it is shown that large, stabilized CIs can be detected in the gas phase by FTIR spectroscopy during the ozonolysis of β‐pinene. Their transient absorption bands between 930 and 830 cm^?1 appear only in the initial phase of the ozonolysis reaction when the scavenging of stabilized CIs by the reaction products is slow. The large CIs react with sulfur dioxide to give sulfur trioxide and nopinone with a yield exceeding 80 %. Reactant consumption and product formation in time‐resolved β‐pinene ozonolysis experiments in the presence of sulfur dioxide have been kinetically modeled. The results suggest a fast reaction of sulfur dioxide with CIs arising from β‐pinene ozonolysis.     

Mechanisms for the formation of secondary organic aerosol components from the gas-phase ozonolysis of alpha-pinene

Gas-phase ozonolysis of alpha-pinene was studied in static chamber experiments under 'OH-free' conditions. A range of multifunctional products-in particular low-volatility carboxylic acids-were identified in the condensed phase using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry after derivatisation. The dependence of product yields on reaction conditions (humidity, choice of OH radical scavengers, added Criegee intermediate scavengers, NO(2)etc.) was investigated to probe the mechanisms of formation of these products; additional information was obtained by studying the ozonolysis of an enal and an enone derived from alpha-pinene. On the basis of experimental findings, previously suggested mechanisms were evaluated and detailed gas-phase mechanisms were developed to explain the observed product formation. Atmospheric implications of this work are discussed.     

Reactions of C=C-terminated self-assembled monolayers with gas-phase ozone

Reactions of gas-phase ozone with alkene-terminated alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers on Au are explored using reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS). The experiments are performed by using a directional doser to control the ozone flux onto the surface and in situ high vacuum techniques to eliminate reactions with atmospheric contaminants. We find that reactions between ozone and the C=C terminal group proceed through the formation of a carboxylic acid moiety that subsequently converts to an interchain carboxylic acid anhydride.     

Gas-phase reactions of mono- and dichlorophenols

Reactions occurring within the high-pressure mass spectrometer source during argon-enhanced negative-ion mass Spectrometry (NIMS) of mono- and dichlorophenols result in the formation of adduct ions. The reactants for the formation of the adduct ions are derived solely from the chlorophenol. High-resolution accurate mass -measurements of the adducts and comparison of the argon NIMS of the phenols with the argon-enhanced NIMS of authentic chlorinated phenoxyphenol and dichlorodioxin suggest that gas-phase intermolecular and intramolecular nucleophilic substitutions are occurring. The products of the source reactions reflect the stability of the gas-phase species involved and may be compared with the photolysis and pyrolysis reaction products of chlorophenols, chlorinated phenoxyphenols and chlorophenates reported in the literature.     

Photolytic generation of ketones from 6-phenanthridinylmethyl ethers of secondary alcohols

Ketones are generated by photolysis (320 nm) of 6-phenanthridinylmethyl ethers of secondary alcohols. The 6-phenanthridinylmethyl group may therefore be utilized as a latent carbonyl function, especially as the 6-phenanthridinyl-methyl group is chemically inert toward hydroboration, Grignard additions, LiAlH₄-reduction, bromination or ozonolysis at other parts of the molecule     

Cycloalkene ozonolysis: collisionally mediated mechanistic branching

Master equation calculations on a computational potential energy surface reveal that collisional stabilization at atmospheric pressure becomes important in the gas-phase ozonolysis of endocyclic alkenes for a carbon number between 8 and 15. Because the reaction products from endocyclic ozonolysis are tethered, this system is ideal for consideration of collisional energy transfer, as chemical activation is confined to a single reaction product. Collisional stabilization of the Criegee intermediate precedes collisional stabilization of the primary ozonide by roughly an order of magnitude in pressure. The stabilization of the Criegee intermediate leads to a dramatic transformation in the dominant oxidation pathway from a radical-forming process at low carbon number to a secondary ozonide-forming process at high carbon number. Secondary ozonide formation is important even for syn-isomer Criegee intermediates, contrary to previous speculation. We use substituted cyclohexenes as analogues for atmospherically important mono- and sesquiterpenes, which are major precursors for secondary organic aerosol formation in the atmosphere. Combining these calculations with literature experimental data, we conclude that the transformation from chemically activated to collisionally stabilized behavior most probably occurs between the mono- and sesquiterpenes, thus causing dramatically different atmospheric behavior.     

Photochemical sources of organic acids. 1. Reaction of ozone with isoprene, propene, and 2-butenes under dry and humid conditions using SPME

Formation of C4 and smaller carboxylic acids from gas-phase ozonolysis of several alkenes under dry (relative humidity (RH) < 1%) and humid (RH = 65%) conditions have been investigated. We have developed a technique based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to quantify the acids, as well as other products, and applied it to the reactions of ozone with propene, trans-2-butene, 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene, and isoprene. Acetic acid yields from propene and trans-2-butene ozonolysis in the presence of an OH scavenger were 2.7 +/- 0.6 and 2.9 +/- 0.6%, respectively, under dry conditions and 1.8 +/- 0.4 and 2.3 +/- 0.5% at 65% RH. Isoprene ozonolysis produced methacrylic and propenoic acids with yields of 5.5 +/- 1 and 3.0 +/- 1%, under dry conditions and 4.1 +/- 1 and 1.5 +/- 0.3% under wet conditions, respectively. That water inhibits acid formation indicates that the water reaction with stabilized Criegee intermediates is at most a minor source of acids. Acids that may form as coproducts of the OH radical elimination pathway, acetic acid from 2,3-dimethylbutene and isoprene, and propenoic acid from isoprene were also observed with significant yields (up to 10%), although the production of acetic acid was not a linear function of the alkene reacted. Carbonyl products are also reported.     

Pressure dependent aerosol formation from the cyclohexene gas-phase ozonolysis in the presence and absence of sulfur dioxide: a new perspective on the stabilisation of the initial clusters

The ozonolysis of cyclohexene is studied with respect to the pressure dependent formation of stable gas-phase products and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) as well as the influence of the presence of SO(2). In addition the rate coefficient for the initial reaction cyclohexene + O(3) was determined at 295 K. The observed increase in CO and ethene yields at low pressures and the absence of ketene in the product spectrum confirm previously proposed reaction pathways forming these decomposition products. An enhanced ethene formation at pressures below 300 mbar coincides with drastically decreased aerosol yields pointing to a high influence on SOA formation of chemical activation driven dynamics in the vinylhydroperoxide channel. The static reactor experiments at 450 mbar in the presence of SO(2) in the present study showed a similar sensitivity of additional particle formation to H(2)SO(4) number densities as found in near-atmospheric flow reactor experiments [Sipil?et al., Science, 2010, 327, 1243], a surprising result with regard to the very different experimental approaches. At low pressures (around 40 mbar) no significant new particle formation is observed even at high H(2)SO(4) concentrations. These findings indicate that the collisional stabilisation of initial clusters is an important aspect for SOA formation processes involving sulfuric acid and organic compounds. The results may have implications for geo-engineering strategies based on stratospheric sulfur injection, but caution is mandatory when room temperature laboratory results are extrapolated to stratospheric conditions.     

Secondary organic aerosol from limona ketone: insights into terpene ozonolysis via synthesis of key intermediates

Limona ketone was synthesized to explore the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation mechanism from limonene ozonolysis and also to test group-additivity concepts describing the volatility distribution of ozonolysis products from similar precursors. Limona ketone SOA production is indistinguishable from alpha-pinene, confirming the expected similarity. However, limona ketone SOA production is significantly less intense than limonene SOA production. The very low vapor pressure of limonene ozonolysis products is consistent with full oxidation of both double bonds in limonene and furthermore with production of products other than ketones after oxidation of the exo double bond in limonene. Mass-balance constraints confirm that ketone products from exo double-bond ozonolysis have a minimal contribution to the ultimate product yield. These results serve as the foundation for an emerging framework to describe the effect on volatility of successive generations of organic compounds in the atmosphere.     

Photochemical aging of secondary organic aerosol particles generated from the oxidation of d-limonene

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particles are generated by reacting d-limonene vapor and ozone in a Teflon reaction chamber. The reaction is carried out in either dry or humid air in darkness. The resulting SOA particles are collected on glass fiber filters, and their photochemical properties are probed using a combination of UV photodissociation action spectroscopy and absorption spectroscopy techniques. Photolysis of limonene SOA in the tropospheric actinic region (lambda > 295 nm) readily produces formic acid and formaldehyde as gas-phase products. The UV wavelength dependence of the photolysis product yield suggests that the primary absorbers in SOA particles are organic peroxides. The relative humidity maintained during SOA particle growth is found to have little effect on the UV wavelength dependence of the photolysis product yield. The data suggest that direct photodissociation processes may play an important role in photochemical processing of atmospheric SOA particles.