Products and Mechanism of the Gas Phase Reaction of Ozone with β-Pinene

Gas phase ozonolysis of β-pinene was performedin a 570 l static reactor at 730 Torr and 296 K insynthetic air and the products were analysed by acombination of gas phase FTIR spectroscopy, HPLC andIC analyses of gas phase and aerosol samples,respectively. The reaction mechanism was investigatedby adding HCHO, HCOOH and H2O as Criegeeintermediate scavenger and cyclohexane as OH radicalscavenger. Main identified products (yields inparentheses) in the presence of cyclohexane as OHradical scavenger were HCHO (0.65 ± 0.04),nopinone (0.16 ± 0.04), 3-hydroxy-nopinone (0.15± 0.05), CO2 (0.20 ± 0.04), CO (0.030± 0.002), HCOOH (0.020 ± 0.002), the secondaryozonide of β-pinene (0.16 ± 0.05), andcis-pinic acid (0.02 ± 0.01). The decompositionof the primary ozonide was found to yieldpredominantly the excited C9-Criegee intermediateand HCHO (0.84 ± 0.04) and to a minor extent theexcited CH2OO intermediate and nopinone (0.16± 0.04). Roughly 40% of the excitedC9-Criegee intermediate becomes stabilised andcould be shown to react with HCHO, HCOOH and H2O. The atmospherically important reaction of thestabilised C9-Criegee intermediate with H2Owas found to result in a nopinone increase of (0.35± 0.05) and in the formation of H2O2(0.24 ± 0.03). Based on the observed products,the unimolecular decomposition/isomerisationchannels of the C9-Criegee intermediate arediscussed in terms of the hydroperoxide and esterchannels. Subsequent reactions of the nopinonylradical, formed in the hydroperoxide channel, lead tomajor products like 3-hydroxy-nopinone but also tominor products like cis-pinic acid. A mechanismfor the formation of this dicarboxylic acid isproposed and its possible role in aerosol formationprocesses discussed.