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Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 2011

Abstract

A hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA) was used to measure the water uptake (hygroscopicity) of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed during the chemical and photochemical oxidation of several organic precursors in a smog chamber. Electron ionization mass spectra of the non-refractory submicron aerosol were simultaneously determined with an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS), and correlations between the two different signals were investigated. SOA hygroscopicity was found to strongly correlate with the relative abundance of the ion signal m/z 44 expressed as a fraction of total organic signal (f44 ). m/z 44 is due mostly to the ion fragment CO2+ for all types of SOA systems studied, and has been previously shown to strongly correlate with organic O/C for ambient and chamber OA. The analysis was also performed on ambient OA from two field experiments at the remote site Jungfraujoch, and the megacity Mexico City, where similar results were found. A simple empirical linear relation between the hygroscopicity of OA at subsaturated RH, as given by the hygroscopic growth factor (GF) or "[varkappa]org " parameter, and f44 was determined and is given by [varkappa]org = 2.2 × f44 - 0.13. This approximation can be further verified and refined as the database for AMS and HTDMA measurements is constantly being expanded around the world. The use of this approximation could introduce an important simplification in the parameterization of hygroscopicity of OA in atmospheric models, since f44 is correlated with the photochemical age of an air mass.

Details

Title
Relating hygroscopicity and composition of organic aerosol particulate matter
Author
Duplissy, J.; DeCarlo, P. F.; Dommen, J.; Alfarra, M. R.; Metzger, A.; Barmpadimos, I.; Prevot, A. S. H.; Weingartner, E.; Tritscher, T.; Gysel, M.; Aiken, A. C.; Jimenez, J. L.; Canagaratna, M. R.; Worsnop, D. R.; Collins, D. R.; Tomlinson, J.; Baltensperger, U.
First page
1155
Publication year
2011
Publication date
2011
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
ISSN
16807316
e-ISSN
16807324
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
852683706
Copyright
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 2011