Measurements of the kinetics of the OH-initiated oxidation of methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein

Characteristics and sources analysis of ambient volatile organic compounds in a typical industrial park: Implications for ozone formation in 2022 Asian Games

In this study, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at a major industrial park in Yangtze River Delta Region, China, along with an urban site had been investigated for three years (2018-2020). The daily-mean concentration of total 97 VOCs in the industrial park (224.3 ± 139.1 μg/m³) was about twice that of urban site (112.0 ± 64.2 μg/m³). Halohydrocarbons were predominant VOCs species at both sites accounting for 39.0 % and 32.2 % in industrial and urban sites, respectively. Annual-average concentrations of total VOCs slowed down gradually in industrial park, while that of the urban site increased annually. Evident seasonal and diurnal variations were observed for VOCs concentration in both sites. Higher VOCs concentrations appeared in summer for industrial park, and high concentrations generally appeared at 8:00 and 19:00-20:00 in two sites. Diagnostic ratios of m/p-xylene to ethylbenzene indicated vehicle emissions and solvent volatilization were main sources of VOCs in industrial site during winter. Further positive matrix factorization identified fuel usage and industry source as major sources in industrial park and urban site, respectively. Ozone formation potential calculations showed aromatics contributed most to ozone formation, and benzyl chloride was a key species when its concentration was high. Further empirical kinetic modeling approach revealed ozone formation in industrial park was in VOCs-limited regime. Through air mass trajectory analysis, air pollutants especially ozone from industrial park will be transported to stadiums by northeast wind during the 2022 Asian Games. The reductions in VOCs emissions from industrials are highly recommended for ozone control in 2022 Asian Games.

Cataluminescence sensor for highly sensitive and selective detection of iso-butanol

In this paper, a gaseous sensor was described for detection of iso-butanol on the basis of its strong cataluminescence (CTL) emission on nano-MgO surface. The sensor showed high sensitivity and specificity to iso-butanol with response time less than 1 s and recovery time less than 18 s. A good linearly relationship between CTL intensity and the concentration of iso-butanol was observed in the range of 7.6-3350 mg/m³ (r = 0.9992), the limit of detection was 2.5 mg/m³. The proposed CTL sensor exhibits good specificity to iso-butanol against other compounds including common alcohols. The possible reaction paths of iso-butanol on the MgO surface were investigated in detail. Results shows that the hydrogen atom abstraction of iso-butanol to form β-R_iso following consumption via Waddington mechanism possible is a major reaction channel for CTL emission. The sensor was applied to analyze iso-butanol in spiked samples, satisfactory recoveries were obtained in the range of 96.6-112.8% and the RSDs were 5.0-10.1%, indicating that the proposed sensor is a promising candidate for rapid analysis of iso-butanol.

Gas-Phase Reactions of Isoprene and Its Major Oxidation Products

Isoprene carries approximately half of the flux of non-methane volatile organic carbon emitted to the atmosphere by the biosphere. Accurate representation of its oxidation rate and products is essential for quantifying its influence on the abundance of the hydroxyl radical (OH), nitrogen oxide free radicals (NO _x), ozone (O₃), and, via the formation of highly oxygenated compounds, aerosol. We present a review of recent laboratory and theoretical studies of the oxidation pathways of isoprene initiated by addition of OH, O₃, the nitrate radical (NO₃), and the chlorine atom. From this review, a recommendation for a nearly complete gas-phase oxidation mechanism of isoprene and its major products is developed. The mechanism is compiled with the aims of providing an accurate representation of the flow of carbon while allowing quantification of the impact of isoprene emissions on HO _x and NO _x free radical concentrations and of the yields of products known to be involved in condensed-phase processes. Finally, a simplified (reduced) mechanism is developed for use in chemical transport models that retains the essential chemistry required to accurately simulate isoprene oxidation under conditions where it occurs in the atmosphere-above forested regions remote from large NO _x emissions.

Mechanism of the hydroxyl radical oxidation of methacryloyl peroxynitrate (MPAN) and its pathway toward secondary organic aerosol formation in the atmosphere

Methacryloyl peroxynitrate (MPAN), the acyl peroxynitrate of methacrolein, has been suggested to be an important secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursor from isoprene oxidation. Yet, the mechanism by which MPAN produces SOA through reaction with the hydroxyl radical (OH) is unclear. We systematically evaluate three proposed mechanisms in controlled chamber experiments and provide the first experimental support for the theoretically-predicted lactone formation pathway from the MPAN + OH reaction, producing hydroxymethyl-methyl-α-lactone (HMML). The decomposition of the MPAN-OH adduct yields HMML + NO3 (∼75%) and hydroxyacetone + CO + NO3 (∼25%), out-competing its reaction with atmospheric oxygen. The production of other proposed SOA precursors, e.g., methacrylic acid epoxide (MAE), from MPAN and methacrolein are negligible (<2%). Furthermore, we show that the beta-alkenyl moiety of MPAN is critical for lactone formation. Alkyl radicals formed cold via H-abstraction by OH do not decompose to HMML, even if they are structurally identical to the MPAN-OH adduct. The SOA formation from HMML, from polyaddition of the lactone to organic compounds at the particle interface or in the condensed phase, is close to unity under dry conditions. However, the SOA yield is sensitive to particle liquid water and solvated ions. In hydrated inorganic particles, HMML reacts primarily with H2O to produce the monomeric 2-methylglyceric acid (2MGA) or with aqueous sulfate and nitrate to produce the associated organosulfate and organonitrate, respectively. 2MGA, a tracer for isoprene SOA, is semivolatile and its accommodation in aerosol water decreases with decreasing pH. Conditions that enhance the production of neutral 2MGA suppress SOA mass from the HMML channel. Considering the liquid water content and pH ranges of ambient particles, 2MGA will exist largely as a gaseous compound in some parts of the atmosphere.

Atmospheric fate of methyl vinyl ketone: peroxy radical reactions with NO and HO2

First generation product yields from the OH-initiated oxidation of methyl vinyl ketone (3-buten-2-one, MVK) under both low and high NO conditions are reported. In the low NO chemistry, three distinct reaction channels are identified leading to the formation of (1) OH, glycolaldehyde, and acetyl peroxy R2a , (2) a hydroperoxide R2b , and (3) an α-diketone R2c . The α-diketone likely results from HOx-neutral chemistry previously only known to occur in reactions of HO2 with halogenated peroxy radicals. Quantum chemical calculations demonstrate that all channels are kinetically accessible at 298 K. In the high NO chemistry, glycolaldehyde is produced with a yield of 74 ± 6.0%. Two alkyl nitrates are formed with a combined yield of 4.0 ± 0.6%. We revise a three-dimensional chemical transport model to assess what impact these modifications in the MVK mechanism have on simulations of atmospheric oxidative chemistry. The calculated OH mixing ratio over the Amazon increases by 6%, suggesting that the low NO chemistry makes a non-negligible contribution toward sustaining the atmospheric radical pool.

Theoretical investigation of the oxidation pathways of HO•-initiated reactions of acrolein, methacrolein, and trans-crotonaldehyde

Ab initio molecular-orbital calculations have been performed to investigate the reaction mechanisms of the HO•-initiated reactions of the α,β-unsaturated aldehydes: acrolein (ACR), methacrolein (MACR), and trans-crotonaldehyde (CROT). All geometries were fully optimized at the MP2(Full)/6–31G(d,p) level. The correlation energy corrections were introduced by carrying out single-point calculations using both spin-projected second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory (PMP2) and coupled-cluster theory (CCSD(T)) using basis sets of different sizes. All reaction pathways studied proceed via a barrierless formation of a loosely bound pre-reactive complex in the entrance channel. The transition-state structures of the HO• additions to the terminal (β) and to the central (α) carbon atoms of the C=C double bond are found to be reactant-like structures. The lowest-energy barrier pathways are found to be the aldehydic H-atom abstraction. The β-addition pathways are found to be energetically more favored than the α-addition pathways. The HO• addition and aldehydic H-atom abstraction pathways are found to be highly exoergic, with the H-atom abstraction pathway being more exoergic than the addition pathways. Although the methyl substitution at the C=C double bond of methacrolein and crotonaldehyde lowers the energies of the transition-state structures of both α- and β-addition pathways, it destabilizes the energies of the transition-state structures of the corresponding aldehydic H-atom abstraction pathways, compared with that of acrolein.

Chemical composition of secondary organic aerosol formed from the photooxidation of isoprene

Recent work in our laboratory has shown that the photooxidation of isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene, C(5)H(8)) leads to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). In the current study, the chemical composition of SOA from the photooxidation of isoprene over the full range of NO(x) conditions is investigated through a series of controlled laboratory chamber experiments. SOA composition is studied using a wide range of experimental techniques: electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry, high-resolution mass spectrometry, online aerosol mass spectrometry, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and an iodometric-spectroscopic method. Oligomerization was observed to be an important SOA formation pathway in all cases; however, the nature of the oligomers depends strongly on the NO(x) level, with acidic products formed under high-NO(x) conditions only. We present, to our knowledge, the first evidence of particle-phase esterification reactions in SOA, where the further oxidation of the isoprene oxidation product methacrolein under high-NO(x) conditions produces polyesters involving 2-methylglyceric acid as a key monomeric unit. These oligomers comprise approximately 22-34% of the high-NO(x) SOA mass. Under low-NO(x) conditions, organic peroxides contribute significantly to the low-NO(x) SOA mass (approximately 61% when SOA forms by nucleation and approximately 25-30% in the presence of seed particles). The contribution of organic peroxides in the SOA decreases with time, indicating photochemical aging. Hemiacetal dimers are found to form from C(5) alkene triols and 2-methyltetrols under low-NO(x) conditions; these compounds are also found in aerosol collected from the Amazonian rainforest, demonstrating the atmospheric relevance of these low-NO(x) chamber experiments.

Methyl Vinyl Ketone+OH and Methacrolein+OH Oxidation Reactions: A Master Equation Analysis of the Pressure- and Temperature-Dependent Rate Constants

High-level electronic structure calculations and master equation analyses were carried out to obtain the pressure- and temperature-dependent rate constants of the methyl vinyl ketone+OH and methacrolein+OH reactions. The balance between the OH addition reactions at the high-pressure limit, the OH addition reactions in the fall-off region, and the pressure-independent hydrogen abstractions involved in these multiwell and multichannel systems, has been shown to be crucial to understand the pressure and temperature dependence of each global reaction. In particular, the fall-off region of the OH addition reactions contributes to the inverse temperature dependence of the rate constants in the Arrhenius plots, leading to pressure-dependent negative activation energies. The pressure dependence of the methyl vinyl ketone+OH reaction is clearly more important than in the case of the methacrolein+OH reaction owing to the weight of the hydrogen abstraction process in this second system. Comparison of the theoretical rate constants and the experimental measurements shows quite good agreement.

Overall Rate Constant Measurements of the Reaction of Hydroxy- and Chloroalkylperoxy Radicals Derived from Methacrolein and Methyl Vinyl Ketone with Nitric Oxide

The overall rate constants of the reactions of NO with hydroxy- and chloroalkylperoxy radicals, derived from the OH- and Cl-initiated oxidation of methacrolein and methyl vinyl ketone, respectively, were directly determined for the first time using the turbulent-flow technique and pseudo-first-order kinetics conditions with high-pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry for the direct detection of peroxy radical reactants. The individual 100 Torr, 298 K hydroxyalkylperoxy + NO rate constants for the methacrolein [(0.93 +/- 0.12) (2sigma) x 10(-11) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1)] and methyl vinyl ketone [(0.84 +/- 0.10) x 10(-11) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1)] systems were found to be identical within the 95% confidence interval associated with each separate measurement, as were the chloroalkylperoxy + NO rate constants for both methacrolein [(1.17 +/- 0.11) x 10(-11) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1)] and methyl vinyl ketone [(1.14 +/- 0.14) x 10(-11) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1)]. However, the difference in the rate constants between the hydroxyperoxy + NO and chloroalkylperoxy + NO systems was found to be statistically significant, with the chloroalkylperoxy + NO rate constants about 30% higher than the corresponding hydroxyalkylperoxy + NO rate constants. This substituent effect was rationalized via a frontier molecular orbital model approach.

Pressure dependence in the methyl vinyl ketone + OH and methacrolein + OH oxidation reactions: an electronic structure study

High-level electronic structure calculations were carried out for the study of the reaction pathways in the OH-initiated oxidations of methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MACR). For the two conformers of MVK (called synperiplanar and antiperiplanar), the addition channels of OH to the terminal and central carbon atom of the double bond dominate the overall rate constant, whereas the abstraction of the methyl hydrogen atoms has no significant kinetic role. In the case of MACR, only the antiperiplanar conformer is important in its reactivity. In addition, the lower Gibbs free energy barrier for MACR corresponds to the aldehydic hydrogen abstraction reaction, which will be somewhat more favorable than the addition processes. The subtle balance between the different pathways (additions versus abstractions) serves to give an understanding of the pressure dependence of the rate constants of these tropospheric oxidation processes.