H 2 SO 4 and particle production in a photolytic flow reactor: chemical modeling, cluster thermodynamics and contamination issues
2019
Abstract. Size distributions of particles formed from sulfuric acid
( H 2 SO 4 ) and water vapor in a photolytic flow reactor (PhoFR) were
measured with a nanoparticle mobility sizing system. Experiments with added
ammonia and dimethylamine were also performed. H 2 SO 4(g) was
synthesized from HONO, sulfur dioxide and water vapor, initiating OH
oxidation by HONO photolysis. Experiments were performed at 296 K over a
range of sulfuric acid production levels and for 16 % to 82 % relative
humidity. Measured distributions generally had a large-particle mode that
was roughly lognormal; mean diameters ranged from 3 to 12 nm and widths
(ln σ ) were ∼0.3 . Particle formation conditions were
stable over many months. Addition of single-digit pmol mol −1 mixing ratios of
dimethylamine led to very large increases in particle number density.
Particles produced with ammonia, even at 2000 pmol mol −1 , showed that NH 3
is a much less effective nucleator than dimethylamine. A two-dimensional
simulation of particle formation in PhoFR is also presented that starts with
gas-phase photolytic production of H 2 SO 4 , followed by kinetic
formation of molecular clusters and their decomposition, which is determined by their
thermodynamics. Comparisons with model predictions of the experimental
result's dependency on HONO and water vapor concentrations yield
phenomenological cluster thermodynamics and help delineate the effects of
potential contaminants. The added-base simulations and experimental results
provide support for previously published dimethylamine– H 2 SO 4
cluster thermodynamics and provide a phenomenological set of
ammonia–sulfuric acid thermodynamics.
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