| 1. |
- Almeida, Joao, et al.
(författare)
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Molecular understanding of sulphuric acid-amine particle nucleation in the atmosphere
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 502:7471, s. 359-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nucleation of aerosol particles from trace atmospheric vapours is thought to provide up to half of global cloud condensation nuclei(1). Aerosols can cause a net cooling of climate by scattering sunlight and by leading to smaller but more numerous cloud droplets, which makes clouds brighter and extends their lifetimes(2). Atmospheric aerosols derived from human activities are thought to have compensated for a large fraction of the warming caused by greenhouse gases(2). However, despite its importance for climate, atmospheric nucleation is poorly understood. Recently, it has been shown that sulphuric acid and ammonia cannot explain particle formation rates observed in the lower atmosphere(3). It is thought that amines may enhance nucleation(4-16), but until now there has been no direct evidence for amine ternary nucleation under atmospheric conditions. Here we use the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) chamber at CERN and find that dimethylamine above three parts per trillion by volume can enhance particle formation rates more than 1,000-fold compared with ammonia, sufficient to account for the particle formation rates observed in the atmosphere. Molecular analysis of the clusters reveals that the faster nucleation is explained by a base-stabilization mechanism involving acid-amine pairs, which strongly decrease evaporation. The ion-induced contribution is generally small, reflecting the high stability of sulphuric acid-dimethylamine clusters and indicating that galactic cosmic rays exert only a small influence on their formation, except at low overall formation rates. Our experimental measurements are well reproduced by a dynamical model based on quantum chemical calculations of binding energies of molecular clusters, without any fitted parameters. These results show that, in regions of the atmosphere near amine sources, both amines and sulphur dioxide should be considered when assessing the impact of anthropogenic activities on particle formation.
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| 2. |
- Brus, David, et al.
(författare)
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Temperature-Dependent Diffusion of H2SO4 in Air at Atmospherically Relevant Conditions : Laboratory Measurements Using Laminar Flow Technique
- 2017
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Ingår i: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433 .- 2073-4433. ; 8:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report flow tube measurements of the effective sulfuric acid diffusion coefficient at ranges of different relative humidities (from similar to 4 to 70%), temperatures (278, 288 and 298 K) and initial H2SO4 concentrations (from 1 x 10(6) to 1 x 10(8) molecules.cm(-3)). The measurements were carried out under laminar flow of humidified air containing trace amounts of impurities such as amines (few ppt), thus representing typical conditions met in Earth's continental boundary layer. The diffusion coefficients were calculated from the sulfuric acid wall loss rate coefficients that were obtained by measuring H2SO4 concentration continuously at seven different positions along the flow tube with a chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS). The wall loss rate coefficients and laminar flow conditions were verified with additional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model FLUENT simulations. The determined effective sulfuric acid diffusion coefficients decreased with increasing relative humidity, as also seen in previous experiments, and had a rather strong power dependence with respect to temperature, around proportional to T-5.6, which is in disagreement with the expected temperature dependence of similar to T-1.75 for pure vapours. Further clustering kinetics simulations using quantum chemical data showed that the effective diffusion coefficient is lowered by the increased diffusion volume of H2SO4 molecules via a temperature-dependent attachment of base impurities like amines. Thus, the measurements and simulations suggest that in the atmosphere the attachment of sulfuric acid molecules with base molecules can lead to a lower than expected effective sulfuric acid diffusion coefficient with a higher than expected temperature dependence.
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| 3. |
- Carlsson, Philip T. M., et al.
(författare)
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Neutral Sulfuric Acid-Water Clustering Rates : Bridging the Gap between Molecular Simulation and Experiment
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1948-7185 .- 1948-7185. ; 11:10, s. 4239-4244
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The role of sulfuric acid during atmospheric new particle formation is an ongoing topic of discussion. In this work, we provide quantitative experimental constraints for quantum chemically calculated evaporation rates for the smallest H2SO4-H2O clusters, characterizing the mechanism governing nucleation on a kinetic, single-molecule level. We compare experimental particle size distributions resulting from a highly supersaturated homogeneous H2SO4 gas phase with the results from kinetic simulations employing quantum chemically derived decomposition rates of electrically neutral H2SO4 molecular clusters up to the pentamer at a large range of relative humidities. By using high H2SO4 concentrations, we circumvent the uncertainties concerning contaminants and competing reactions present in studies at atmospheric conditions. We show good agreement between molecular simulation and experimental measurements and provide the first evaluation of theoretical predictions of the stabilization provided by water molecules.
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| 4. |
- Clusius, Petri, et al.
(författare)
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Atmospherically Relevant Chemistry and Aerosol box model - ARCA box (version 1.2)
- 2022
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Ingår i: Geoscientific Model Development. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1991-959X .- 1991-9603. ; 15:18, s. 7257-7286
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We introduce the Atmospherically Relevant Chemistry and Aerosol box model ARCA box (v.1.2.2). It is a zero-dimensional process model with a focus on atmospheric chemistry and submicron aerosol processes, including cluster formation. A novel feature in the model is its comprehensive graphical user interface, allowing for detailed configuration and documentation of the simulation settings, flexible model input, and output visualization. Additionally, the graphical interface contains tools for module customization and input data acquisition. These properties - customizability, ease of implementation and repeatability - make ARCA an invaluable tool for any atmospheric scientist who needs a view on the complex atmospheric aerosol processes. ARCA is based on previous models (MALTE-BOX, ADiC and ADCHEM), but the code has been fully rewritten and reviewed. The gas-phase chemistry module incorporates the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCMv3.3.1) and Peroxy Radical Autoxidation Mechanism (PRAM) but can use any compatible chemistry scheme. ARCA's aerosol module couples the ACDC (Atmospheric Cluster Dynamics Code) in its particle formation module, and the discrete particle size representation includes the fully stationary and fixed-grid moving average methods. ARCA calculates the gas-particle partitioning of low-volatility organic vapours for any number of compounds included in the chemistry, as well as the Brownian coagulation of the particles. The model has parametrizations for vapour and particle wall losses but accepts user-supplied time- and size-resolved input. ARCA is written in Fortran and Python (user interface and supplementary tools), can be installed on any of the three major operating systems and is licensed under GPLv3.
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| 5. |
- Elm, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Formation of atmospheric molecular clusters consisting of sulfuric acid and C8H12O6 tricarboxylic acid
- 2017
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Ingår i: Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics - PCCP. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 19:6, s. 4877-4886
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Using computational methods, we investigate the formation of atmospheric clusters consisting of sulfuric acid (SA) and 3-methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acid (MBTCA), identified from a-pinene oxidation. The molecular structure of the clusters is obtained using three different DFT functionals (PW91, M06-2X and oB97X-D) with the 6-31++ G(d, p) basis set and the binding energies are calculated using a high level DLPNO-CCSD(T)/ Def2-QZVPP method. The stability of the clusters is evaluated based on the calculated formation free energies. The interaction between MBTCA and sulfuric acid is found to be thermodynamically favourable and clusters consisting of 2-3 MBTCA and 2-3 SA molecules are found to be particularly stable. There is a large stabilization of the cluster when the amount of sulfuric acid-carboxylic acid hydrogen bonded interactions is maximized. The reaction free energies for forming the (MBTCA) 2-3(SA) 2-3 clusters are found to be similar in magnitude to those of the formation of the sulfuric acid-dimethylamine cluster. Using cluster kinetics calculations we identify that the growth of the clusters is essentially limited by a weak formation of the largest clusters studied, implying that other stabilizing vapours are required for stable cluster formation and growth.
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| 6. |
- Henschel, Henning, et al.
(författare)
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Hydration of Atmospherically Relevant Molecular Clusters : Computational Chemistry and Classical Thermodynamics
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry A. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1089-5639 .- 1520-5215. ; 118:14, s. 2599-2611
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Formation of new particles through clustering of molecules from condensable vapors is a significant source for atmospheric aerosols. The smallest clusters formed in the very first steps of the condensation process are, however, not directly observable by experimental means. We present here a comprehensive series of electronic structure calculations on the hydrates of clusters formed by up to four molecules of sulfuric acid, and up to two molecules of ammonia or dimethylamine. Though clusters containing ammonia, and certainly dimethylamine, generally exhibit lower average hydration than the pure acid clusters, populations of individual hydrates vary widely. Furthermore, we explore the predictions obtained using a thermodynamic model for the description of these hydrates. The similar magnitude and trends of hydrate formation predicted by both methods illustrate the potential of combining them to obtain more comprehensive models. The stabilization of some clusters relative to others due to their hydration is highly likely to have significant effects on the overall processes that lead to formation of new particles in the atmosphere.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Julin, Jan, et al.
(författare)
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Impacts of Future European Emission Reductions on Aerosol Particle Number Concentrations Accounting for Effects of Ammonia, Amines, and Organic Species
- 2018
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 52:2, s. 692-700
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although they are currently unregulated, atmospheric ultrafine particles (<100 nm) pose health risks because of, e.g., their capability to penetrate deep into the respiratory system. Ultrafine particles, often minor contributors to atmospheric particulate mass, typically dominate aerosol particle number concentrations. We simulated the response of particle number concentrations over Europe to recent estimates of future emission reductions of aerosol particles and their precursors. We used the chemical transport model PMCAMx-UF, with novel updates including state-of-the-art descriptions of ammonia and dimethylamine new particle formation (NPF) pathways and the condensation of organic compounds onto particles. These processes had notable impacts on atmospheric particle number concentrations. All three emission scenarios (current legislation, optimized emissions, and maximum technically feasible reductions) resulted in substantial (10-50%) decreases in median particle number concentrations over Europe. Consistent reductions were predicted in Central Europe, while Northern Europe exhibited smaller reductions or even increased concentrations. Motivated by the improved NPF descriptions for ammonia and methylamines, we placed special focus on the potential to improve air quality by reducing agricultural emissions,, which are a major source of these species. Agricultural emission controls showed promise in reducing ultrafine particle number concentrations, although the change is nonlinear with particle size.
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| 9. |
- Kontkanen, Jenni, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring the potential of nano-Kohler theory to describe the growth of atmospheric molecular clusters by organic vapors using cluster kinetics simulations
- 2018
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 18:18, s. 13733-13754
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) occurs by the formation of nanometer-sized molecular clusters and their subsequent growth to larger particles. NPF involving sulfuric acid, bases and oxidized organic compounds is an important source of atmospheric aerosol particles. One of the mechanisms suggested to depict this process is nano-Kohler theory, which describes the activation of inorganic molecular clusters to growth by a soluble organic vapor. In this work, we studied the capability of nano-Kohler theory to describe the initial growth of atmospheric molecular clusters by simulating the dynamics of a cluster population in the presence of a sulfuric acid-base mixture and an organic compound. We observed nano-Kohler-type activation in our simulations when the saturation ratio of the organic vapor and the ratio between organic and inorganic vapor concentrations were in a suitable range. However, nano-Kohler theory was unable to predict the exact size at which the activation occurred in the simulations. In some conditions, apparent cluster growth rate (GR) started to increase close to the activation size determined from the simulations. Nevertheless, because the behavior of GR is also affected by other dynamic processes, GR alone cannot be used to deduce the cluster growth mechanism.
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| 10. |
- Kontkanen, Jenni, et al.
(författare)
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Growth of atmospheric clusters involving cluster-cluster collisions : comparison of different growth rate methods
- 2016
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry And Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 16:9, s. 5545-5560
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We simulated the time evolution of atmospheric cluster concentrations in a one-component system where not only do clusters grow by condensation of monomers, but cluster-cluster collisions also significantly contribute to the growth of the clusters. Our aim was to investigate the consistency of the growth rates of sub-3aEuro-nm clusters determined with different methods and the validity of the common approach to use them to estimate particle formation rates. We compared the growth rate corresponding to particle fluxes (FGR), the growth rate derived from the appearance times of clusters (AGR), and the growth rate calculated based on irreversible vapor condensation (CGR). We found that the relation between the different growth rates depends strongly on the external conditions and the properties of the model substance. The difference between the different growth rates was typically highest at the smallest, sub-2aEuro-nm sizes. FGR was generally lower than AGR and CGR; at the smallest sizes the difference was often very large, while at sizes larger than 2aEuro-nm the growth rates were closer to each other. AGR and CGR were in most cases close to each other at all sizes. The difference between the growth rates was generally lower in conditions where cluster concentrations were high, and evaporation and other losses were thus less significant. Furthermore, our results show that the conventional method used to determine particle formation rates from growth rates may give estimates far from the true values. Thus, care must be taken not only in how the growth rate is determined but also in how it is applied.
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