Abstract Iron is almost ubiquitous in mineral dust aerosol particles and is known to catalyze the photochemical degradation of organics. For the first time we measured the loss of organics in aerosol particles containing various mineral dusts, using citric acid as an organic proxy. For most of the dust‐containing particles, a pronounced mass loss of citric acid was observed after the start of illumination, which we attribute to photochemical processes with iron as catalyst. We present evidence for two pathways of iron‐catalyzed photochemical processing, namely homogeneous through iron leached from dust particles and heterogeneous through iron residing on dust particle surfaces. While these mechanisms are not expected to affect the global budget of organic species in the atmosphere, they can lead to marked reductions in the thickness of organic coatings acquired by airborne mineral dust via condensation of secondary organic compounds, thus affecting their ability to act as ice‐nucleating particles.

Determining the particle chemical morphology is crucial for unraveling reactive uptake in atmospheric multiphase and heterogeneous chemistry. However, it remains challenging due to the complexity and inhomogeneity of aerosol particles. Using a scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) coupled with near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy and an environmental cell, we imaged and quantified the chemical morphology and hygroscopic behavior of individual submicron urban aerosol particles. Results show that internally mixed particles composed of organic carbon and inorganic matter (OCIn) dominated the particle population (73.1 +/- 7.4%). At 86 % relative humidity, 41.6 % of the particles took up water, with OCIn particles constituting 76.8 % of these hygroscopic particles. Most particles exhibited a core-shell structure under both dry and humid conditions, with an inorganic core and an organic shell. Our findings provide direct observational evidence of the core-shell structure and water uptake behavior of typical urban aerosols, which underscore the importance of incorporating the core-shell structure into models for predicting the reactive uptake coefficient of heterogeneous reactions.

As a novel and unique large-scale instrument, the synchrotron radiation facilities have been progressively applied to the research of atmospheric science. This article introduces the theoretical principles, key technologies, and recent major research results of key synchrotron radiation-based experimental methods. The main synchrotron radiation technologies include the atmospheric pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy ( APXPS), the near edge X-ray absorption fine structure ( NEXAFS) and the scanning transmission X-ray microscopy ( STXM). A key component ( environmental cell) commonly used in all three technologies is explained in detail. This article classifies the collected research according to experimental types, i. e., APXPS experiments, liquid jet experiments and STXM experiments. The main topics include: ( 1) ice surface, (2) salt surface, ( 3) acidic solution, ( 4) organic solution, ( 5) halite solution, ( 6) ozonolysis, ( 7) soot, ( 8) ice nuclei, (9) hygroscopicity and ( 10) reaction mechanism. The development of synchrotron radiation facilities has provided strong support for the research of aerosol science and atmospheric heterogeneous chemistry, giving atmospheric scientists the ability to explore unknown fields and latitudes. It is foreseeable that more and more important atmospheric processes and mechanisms will be revealed by technologies based on synchrotron radiation, which will also reflect the great potential and value of synchrotron radiation devices in the field of atmospheric and environmental science.

Heavy aerosol loading threatens human health across the globe and is typically related to photochemical processing associated with emission of organic, inorganic and trace metal compounds. Aerosol particles dominated by organic solutes may attain a high or ultra-high viscosity (> 1012 Pa s) becoming solid-like in cold and dry air, limiting diffusion of organic and reactive molecules through the particle volume, thus slowing chemistry. In contrast, illumination and thus photochemistry to produce radicals may occur through the bulk of light absorbing particles irrespective of diffusion limitations, but its efficiency is not well constrained. We investigated iron oxidation state changes in particles containing various concentrations of citric acid, iron(III)-citrate, copper(II)-citrate and copper(II) salts using environmental X-ray spectromicroscopy with control of relative humidity, RH, and temperature, T. Chemical images of single aerosol particles with resolution currently as low as 35 × 35 nm2 were acquired in a humidified microreactor revealing spatial gradients in the concentration of iron(II), iron(III), copper(I) and copper(II) compounds. We have also quantified the CO2 formation from coated wall flowtube experiments due to decarboxylation subsequent to ligand to metal charge transfer and the condensed and gas phase products using proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometry to characterize the complex chemical reaction scheme. We observed that iron was largely reduced in particles despite being in an oxygen atmosphere immediately after exposure to atmospherically relevant UV light exposure i.e. using 375 nm LED and a measured intensity of 3 W m‑2 for 15 min. This implies that oxygen uptake, diffusion, reactive oxygen species generation and metal reoxidation reactions were slow compared to photochemical reduction. When relative humidity, RH < 50%, there was significant oxidation only near the surface of particles extending over scales of tens of nanometers. At higher RH, particles became more homogeneously oxidized. We concluded that O2 reaction and diffusion is limited and results in organic radical persistence in particles. In the presence of copper, iron was immediately oxidized after UV exposure, which is in sharp contrast to particles without copper. If oxygen is limited, and therefore cannot quickly reoxidize iron, then copper oxidation reactions or cross iron-copper redox reactions must generate more radicals than expected. We aim to improve the kinetic treatment of radical production from copper and iron, which can affect redox cycling in organic aerosol. Such information is necessary for the accurate prediction of aerosol phase radical generation, chemical loss of oxygenated organic aerosol dominated by carboxyl functionalities and identifying diffusion limitations leading to the preservation of reactive oxygen species and free radicals.

Iodine and carbonate species are important components in marine and dust aerosols, respectively. The non-ideal interactions between these species and other inorganic and organic compounds within aqueous particle phases affect hygroscopicity, acidity, and gas–particle partitioning of semivolatile components. In this work, we present an extended version of the Aerosol Inorganic–Organic Mixtures Functional groups Activity Coefficients (AIOMFAC) model by incorporating the ions I−, IO3-, HCO3-, CO32-, OH−, and CO2(aq) as new species. First, AIOMFAC ion interaction parameters for aqueous solutions were determined based on available thermodynamic data, such as water activity, mean molal activity coefficients, solubility, and vapor–liquid equilibrium measurements. Second, the interaction parameters for the new ions and various organic functional groups were optimized based on experimental data or, where data are scarce, alternative estimation methods such as multiple linear regression or a simple substitution by analogy approach. Additional bulk water activity and electrodynamic balance measurements were carried out to augment the database for the AIOMFAC parameter fit. While not optimal, we show that the use of alternative parameter estimation methods enables physically sound predictions and offers the benefit of a more broadly applicable model. Our implementation of the aqueous carbonate–bicarbonate–CO2(aq) system accounts for the associated temperature-dependent dissociation equilibria explicitly and enables closed- or open-system computations with respect to carbon dioxide equilibration with the gas phase. We discuss different numerical approaches for solving the coupled equilibrium conditions and highlight critical considerations when extremely acidic or basic mixtures are encountered. The fitted AIOMFAC model performance for inorganic aqueous systems is considered excellent over the whole range of mixture compositions where reference data are available. Moreover, the model provides physically meaningful predictions of water activity under highly concentrated conditions. For organic–inorganic mixtures involving new species, the model–measurement agreement is found to be good in most cases, especially at equilibrium relative humidities above ∼ 70 %; reasons for deviations are discussed. Several applications of the extended model are shown and discussed, including the effects of ignoring the auto-dissociation of water in carbonate systems, the effects of mixing bisulfate and bicarbonate compounds in closed- or open-system scenarios on pH and solution speciation, and the prediction of critical cloud condensation nucleus activation of NaI or Na2CO3 particles mixed with suberic acid.

Iron(III) carboxylate photochemistry plays an important role in aerosol aging, especially in the lower troposphere. These complexes can absorb light over a broad wavelength range, inducing the reduction of iron(III) and the oxidation of carboxylate ligands. In the presence of O2, the ensuing radical chemistry leads to further decarboxylation, and the production of .OH, HO2., peroxides, and oxygenated volatile organic compounds, contributing to particle mass loss. The .OH, HO2., and peroxides in turn reoxidize iron(II) back to iron(III), closing a photocatalytic cycle. This cycle is repeated, resulting in continual mass loss due to the release of CO2 and other volatile compounds. In a cold and/or dry atmosphere, organic aerosol particles tend to attain highly viscous states. While the impact of reduced mobility of aerosol constituents on dark chemical reactions has received substantial attention, studies on the effect of high viscosity on photochemical processes are scarce. Here, we choose iron(III) citrate (FeIII(Cit)) as a model light-absorbing iron carboxylate complex that induces citric acid (CA) degradation to investigate how transport limitations influence photochemical processes. Three complementary experimental approaches were used to investigate kinetic transport limitations. The mass loss of single, levitated particles was measured with an electrodynamic balance, the oxidation state of deposited particles was measured with X-ray spectromicroscopy, and HO2. radical production and release into the gas phase was observed in coated-wall flow-tube experiments. We observed significant photochemical degradation with up to 80 % mass loss within 24 h of light exposure. Interestingly, we also observed that mass loss always accelerated during irradiation, resulting in an increase of the mass loss rate by about a factor of 10. When we increased relative humidity (RH), the observed particle mass loss rate also increased. This is consistent with strong kinetic transport limitations for highly viscous particles. To quantitatively compare these experiments and determine important physical and chemical parameters, a numerical multilayered photochemical reaction and diffusion (PRAD) model was developed that treats chemical reactions and the transport of various species. The PRAD model was tuned to simultaneously reproduce all experimental results as closely as possible and captured the essential chemistry and transport during irradiation. In particular, the photolysis rate of FeIII, the reoxidation rate of FeII, HO2. production, and the diffusivity of O2 in aqueous FeIII(Cit) ∕ CA system as function of RH and FeIII(Cit) ∕ CA molar ratio could be constrained. This led to satisfactory agreement within model uncertainty for most but not all experiments performed. Photochemical degradation under atmospheric conditions predicted by the PRAD model shows that release of CO2 and repartitioning of organic compounds to the gas phase may be very important when attempting to accurately predict organic aerosol aging processes.

In viscous, organic-rich aerosol particles containing iron, sunlight may induce anoxic conditions that stabilize reactive oxygen species (ROS) and carbon-centered radicals (CCRs). In laboratory experiments, we show mass loss, iron oxidation and radical formation and release from photoactive organic particles containing iron. Our results reveal a range of temperature and relative humidity, including ambient conditions, that control ROS build up and CCR persistence in photochemically active, viscous organic particles. We find that radicals can attain high concentrations, altering aerosol chemistry and exacerbating health hazards of aerosol exposure. Our physicochemical kinetic model confirmed these results, implying that oxygen does not penetrate such particles due to the combined effects of fast reaction and slow diffusion near the particle surface, allowing photochemically-produced radicals to be effectively trapped in an anoxic organic matrix.

Fresh soot particles are generally hydrophobic, however, particle hydrophilicity can be increased through atmospheric aging processes. At present little is known on how particle chemical composition and hydrophilicity change upon atmospheric aging and associated uncertainties governing the ice cloud formation potential of soot. Here we sampled two propane flame soots referred to as brown and black soot, characterized as organic carbon rich and poor, respectively. We investigated how the ice nucleation activity of these particles changed through aging in water and aqueous acidic solutions, using a continuous flow diffusion chamber operated at cirrus cloud temperatures (T ≤ 233 K). Single aggregates of both unaged and aged soot were chemically characterized by scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (STXM/NEXAFS) measurements. Particle wettability was determined through water sorption measurements. Unaged black and brown soot particles exhibited significantly different ice nucleation activities. Our experiments revealed significantly enhanced ice nucleation activity of the aged soot particles compared to the fresh samples, lowering the required relative humidities at which ice formation can take place at T = 218 K by up to 15% with respect to water (ΔRHi ≈ 25%). We observed an enhanced water uptake capacity for the aged compared to the unaged samples, which was more pronounced for the black soot. From these measurements we concluded that there is a change in ice nucleation mechanism when aging brown soot. Comparison of the NEXAFS spectra of unaged soot samples revealed a unique spectral feature around 287.5 eV in the case of black soot that was absent for the brown soot, indicative of carbon with hydroxyl functionalities. Comparison of the NEXAFS spectra of unaged and aged soot particles indicates changes in organic functional groups, and the aged spectra were found to be largely similar across soot types, with the exception of the water aged brown soot. Overall, we conclude that atmospheric aging is important to representatively assess the ice cloud formation activity of soot particles.

Atmospheric aerosol particles with a high viscosity may become inhomogeneously mixed during chemical processing. Models have predicted gradients in condensed phase reactant concentration throughout particles as the result of diffusion and chemical reaction limitations, termed chemical gradients. However, these have never been directly observed for atmospherically relevant particle diameters. We investigated the reaction between ozone and aerosol particles composed of xanthan gum and FeCl2 and observed the in situ chemical reaction that oxidized Fe2+ to Fe3+ using X-ray spectromicroscopy. Iron oxidation state of particles as small as 0.2 μm in diameter were imaged over time with a spatial resolution of tens of nanometers. We found that the loss off Fe2+ accelerated with increasing ozone concentration and relative humidity, RH. Concentric 2-D column integrated profiles of the Fe2+ fraction, α, out of the total iron were derived and demonstrated that particle surfaces became oxidized while particle cores remained unreacted at RH = 0-20%. At higher RH, chemical gradients evolved over time, extended deeper from the particle surface, and Fe2+ became more homogeneously distributed. We used the kinetic multi-layer model for aerosol surface and bulk chemistry (KM-SUB) to simulate ozone reaction constrained with our observations and inferred key parameters as a function of RH including Henry's Law constant for ozone, HO3, and diffusion coefficients for ozone and iron, DO3 and DFe, respectively. We found that HO3 is higher in our xanthan gum/FeCl2 particles than for water and increases when RH decreased from about 80% to dry conditions. This coincided with a decrease in both DO3 and DFe. In order to reproduce observed chemical gradients, our model predicted that ozone could not be present further than a few nanometers from a particle surface indicating near surface reactions were driving changes in iron oxidation state. However, the observed chemical gradients in α observed over hundreds of nanometers must have been the result of iron transport from the particle interior to the surface where ozone oxidation occurred. In the context of our results, we examine the applicability of the reacto-diffusive framework and discuss diffusion limitations for other reactive gas-aerosol systems of atmospheric importance.

Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland 8 Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. 9 Institute for Physical Chemistry, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. 10 Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, United Kingdom. 11 Multiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany. 12 Univ. Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, IRCELYON, F-69626, Villeurbanne, France 13 Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LCE UMR 7376, 13331 Marseille, France. 14 Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of 15

The diffusivity of molecules relevant to condensed-phase chemistry within viscous secondary organic aerosol (SOA) remains highly uncertain. Whereas there has been an effort to characterize water diffusivity as well as the diffusivity of larger compounds, data are lacking almost entirely for small molecules, such as carbon dioxide (CO2). Here we use photochemically generated CO2 in single particles of aqueous citric acid as a SOA proxy, levitated in an electrodynamic balance, to deduce CO2 diffusivity in the particle with unprecedented accuracy. For medium viscosities at intermediate relative humidities (∼25-40% RH), we find CO2 diffusivities DCO2 ≈ 10-14 m2 s-1, agreeing with the Stokes-Einstein relationship based on current viscosity data but 10 times lower than that for water. Conversely, under dry high-viscosity conditions, we find that DCO2 ≈ 10-16 m2 s-1, which is 10 times higher than for water. We infer that the chemical degradation of atmospheric SOA particles will likely not be limited by CO2 diffusivity.

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Lucy Carpenter opened a general discussion of the paper by Steven Brown: What advances in cavity enhanced spectroscopy have been made in the last decade, and what can we expect to see over the next ten years which might improve sensitivity and performance even further? Steven Bro

A. Ravishankara opened discussion of the paper by Andreas Petzold: Could you please clarify your definition of clear sky? Andreas Petzold responded: In the IAGOS data set, clear sky is defined operationally by the lower detection limit of the backscatter cloud probe (BCP) for ice