Atmospheric new particle formation enhanced by organic acids. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Atmospheric aerosols often contain a substantial fraction of organic matter, but the role of organic compounds in new nanometer-sized particle formation is highly uncertain. Laboratory experiments show that nucleation of sulfuric acid is considerably enhanced in the presence of aromatic acids. Theoretical calculations identify the formation of an unusually stable aromatic acid-sulfuric acid complex, which likely leads to a reduced nucleation barrier. The results imply that the interaction between organic and sulfuric acids promotes efficient formation of organic and sulfate aerosols in the polluted atmosphere because of emissions from burning of fossil fuels, which strongly affect human health and global climate.

published proceedings

  • Science

altmetric score

  • 6

author list (cited authors)

  • Zhang, R., Suh, I., Zhao, J., Zhang, D., Fortner, E. C., Tie, X., Molina, L. T., & Molina, M. J.

citation count

  • 693

complete list of authors

  • Zhang, Renyi||Suh, Inseon||Zhao, Jun||Zhang, Dan||Fortner, Edward C||Tie, Xuexi||Molina, Luisa T||Molina, Mario J

publication date

  • June 2004