Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Sulfur-containing volatile organic compounds emitted during wildfire events, such as dimethyl sulfide, are known to form secondary aerosols containing inorganic sulfate (SO 4 2– ) and surfactant-like organic compounds; however, little is known about the fate of sulfur in other emitted reduced organosulfur species. This study aimed to determine the sulfurous product distribution resulting from the nighttime oxidation of thiophene as a model system. Ion chromatography (IC) and aerosol mass spectrometry (a mini aerosol mass spectrometer, mAMS) were used to constrain the proportions of sulfurous compounds produced under wildfire-relevant conditions ([NO 2 ]/[O 3 ] = 0.1). With constraints from IC, results indicated that the sulfurous particle mass consisted of 30.3 ± 6.6% SO 4 2–, while mAMS fractionation attributed 24.5 ± 1.6% of total sulfate signal to SO 4 2–, 15.4 ± 1.9% to organosulfates, and 60.1 ± 0.9% to sulfonates. Empirical formulas of organosulfur products were identified as C1–C8 organosulfates and sulfonates using complementary mass spectrometry techniques. This study highlights the nighttime oxidation of thiophene and its derivatives as a source of SO 4 2– and particulate organosulfur compounds, which have important implications for the atmospheric sulfur budget and aerosol/droplet physical and chemical properties.
Source: ACS ES&T Air
Institution: University of California, Riverside
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Awards: G1984310066, MRI: Acquisition of a Hybrid Supercritical Chromatography, High-Pressure Chromatograph, Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (SFC/UHPLC Q-ToF/MS), G8242034719, G8839305273, Formation and Evolution of Atmospheric Brown Carbon from Nitrate Radical Initiated Oxidation of Heterocyclic Volatile Organic Compounds
OpenAlex ID: W4404773356