Spectroscopic study of the water-soluble organic matter isolated from atmospheric aerosols collected under different atmospheric conditions

The composition of the water-soluble organic matter from fine aerosols collected in a rural location during two different meteorological conditions (summer and autumn) was investigated by UV-vis, synchronous fluorescence (with Δλ = 20 nm), FT-IR and CPMAS-¹³C NMR spectroscopies. A seasonal variation in the concentration of total carbon, organic carbon and water-soluble organic carbon was confirmed, with higher values during the autumn and lower values during the summer season. The chemical characterisation of the water-soluble organic matter showed that both samples are dominated by a high content of aliphatic structures, carboxyl groups and aliphatic carbons single bonded to one oxygen or nitrogen atom. However, the autumn sample exhibits a higher aromatic content than the summer sample, plus signals due to carbons of phenol, ketones and methoxyl groups. These signals were attributed to lignin breakdown products which are likely to be released during wood combustion processes. The obtained results put into evidence the major contribution of biomass burning processes in domestic fireplaces during low temperature conditions into both the concentration and the bulk chemical properties of the WSOC from fine aerosols.