Evaluating the mixing of organic aerosol components using high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometry

Environ Sci Technol. 2011 Aug 1;45(15):6329-35. doi: 10.1021/es200825g. Epub 2011 Jul 7.

Abstract

According to the pseudo-ideal mixing assumption employed in practically all chemical transport models, organic aerosol components from different sources interact with each other in a single solution, independent of their composition. This critical assumption greatly affects modeled organic aerosol concentrations, but there is little direct experimental evidence to support it. A main experimental challenge is that organic aerosol components from different sources often look similar when analyzed with an aerosol mass spectrometer. We developed a new experimental method to overcome this challenge, using isotopically labeled compounds ((13)C or D) and a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS). We generated mixtures of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from isotopically labeled toluene and from unlabeled α-pinene and used the HR-ToF-AMS data to separate these different SOA types. We evaluated their interaction by comparing the aerosol mass yields of toluene and α-pinene when the SOA was formed in these mixtures to their yields when the SOA was formed in isolation. At equilibrium, our results are consistent with pseudo-ideal mixing of anthropogenic and biogenic SOA components from these chemically dissimilar precursors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Aerosols / analysis*
  • Bicyclic Monoterpenes
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods*
  • Monoterpenes / analysis
  • Organic Chemicals / analysis*
  • Reference Standards
  • Time Factors
  • Toluene / analysis

Substances

  • Aerosols
  • Bicyclic Monoterpenes
  • Monoterpenes
  • Organic Chemicals
  • Toluene
  • alpha-pinene