Measurements of Secondary Organic Aerosol from Oxidation of Cycloalkenes, Terpenes, and m-Xylene Using an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer

Abstract

he Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) was used to characterize physical and chemical properties of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed during ozonolysis of cycloalkenes and biogenic hydrocarbons and photooxidation of m-xylene. Comparison of mass and volume distributions from the AMS and differential mobility analyzers yielded estimates of “effective” density of the SOA in the range of 0.64−1.45 g/cm^3, depending on the particular system. Increased contribution of the fragment at m/z 44, CO_2^+ ion fragment of oxygenated organics, and higher “Δ” values, based on ion series analysis of the mass spectra, in nucleation experiments of cycloalkenes suggest greater contribution of more oxygenated molecules to the SOA as compared to those formed under seeded experiments. Dominant negative “Δ” values of SOA formed during ozonolysis of biogenics indicates the presence of terpene derivative structures or cyclic or unsaturated oxygenated compounds in the SOA. Evidence of acid-catalyzed heterogeneous chemistry, characterized by greater contribution of higher molecular weight fragments to the SOA and corresponding changes in “Δ” patterns, is observed in the ozonolysis of α-pinene. Mass spectra of SOA formed during photooxidation of m-xylene exhibit features consistent with the presence of furandione compounds and nitro organics. This study demonstrates that mixtures of SOA compounds produced from similar precursors result in broadly similar AMS mass spectra. Thus, fragmentation patterns observed for biogenic versus anthropogenic SOA may be useful in determining the sources of ambient SOA.