Water as a probe for pH measurement in individual particles using micro-Raman spectroscopy

A water probe for direct pH measurement of individual particles via micro-Raman spectroscopy

The acidity of atmospheric aerosols influences fundamental physicochemical processes that affect climate and human health. We recently developed a novel and facile water-probe-based method for directly measuring of the pH for micrometer-size droplets, providing a promising technique to better understand aerosol acidity in the atmosphere. The complex chemical composition of fine particles in the ambient air, however, poses certain challenges to using a water-probe for pH measurement, including interference from interactions between compositions and the influence of similar compositions on water structure. To explore the universality of our method, it was employed to measure the pH of ammonium, nitrate, carbonate, sulfate, and chloride particles. The pH of particles covering a broad range (0-14) were accurately determined, thereby demonstrating that our method can be generally applied, even to alkaline particles. Furthermore, a standard spectral library was developed by integrating the standard spectra of common hydrated ions extracted through the water-probe. The library can be employed to identify particle composition and overcome the spectral overlap problem resulting from similar effects. Using the spectral library, all ions were identified and their concentrations were determined, in turn allowing successful pH measurement of multicomponent (ammonium-sulfate-nitrate-chloride) particles. Insights into the synergistic effect of Cl-, NO3-, and NH4+ depletion obtained with our approach revealed the interplay between pH and volatile partitioning. Given the ubiquity of component partitioning and pH variation in particles, the water probe may provide a new perspective on the underlying mechanisms of aerosol aging and aerosol-cloud interaction.

On using an aerosol thermodynamic model to calculate aerosol acidity of coarse particles

Thermodynamic modeling is still the most widely used method to characterize aerosol acidity, a critical physicochemical property of atmospheric aerosols. However, it remains unclear whether gas-aerosol partitioning should be incorporated when thermodynamic models are employed to estimate the acidity of coarse particles. In this work, field measurements were conducted at a coastal city in northern China across three seasons, and covered wide ranges of temperature, relative humidity and NH3 concentrations. We examined the performance of different modes of ISORROPIA-II (a widely used aerosol thermodynamic model) in estimating aerosol acidity of coarse and fine particles. The M0 mode, which incorporates gas-phase data and runs the model in the forward mode, provided reasonable estimation of aerosol acidity for coarse and fine particles. Compared to M0, the M1 mode, which runs the model in the forward mode but does not include gas-phase data, may capture the general trend of aerosol acidity but underestimates pH for both coarse and fine particles; M2, which runs the model in the reverse mode, results in large errors in estimated aerosol pH for both coarse and fine particles and should not be used for aerosol acidity calculations. However, M1 significantly underestimates liquid water contents for both fine and coarse particles, while M2 provides reliable estimation of liquid water contents. In summary, our work highlights the importance of incorporating gas-aerosol partitioning when estimating coarse particle acidity, and thus may help improve our understanding of acidity of coarse particles.

Review of health effects driven by aerosol acidity: Occurrence and implications for air pollution control

Acidity, generally expressed as pH, plays a crucial role in atmospheric processes and ecosystem evolution. Atmospheric acidic aerosol, triggering severe air pollution in the industrialization process (e.g., London Great Smoke in 1952), has detrimental effects on human health. Despite global endeavors to mitigate air pollution, the variation of aerosol acidity remains unclear and further restricts the knowledge of the acidity-driven toxicity of fine particles (PM2.5) in the atmosphere. Here, we summarize the toxicological effects and mechanisms of inhalable acidic aerosol and its response to air pollution control. The acidity could adjust toxic components (e.g., metals, quinones, and organic peroxides) bonded in aerosol and synergize with oxidant gaseous pollutants (e.g., O3 and NO2) in epithelial lining fluid to induce oxidative stress and inflammation. The inhaled aerosol from the ambient air with higher acidity might elevate airway responsiveness and cause worse pulmonary dysfunction. Furthermore, historical observation data and model simulation indicate that PM2.5 can retain its acidic property despite considerable reductions in acidifying gaseous pollutants (e.g., SO2 and NOx) from anthropogenic emissions, suggesting its continuing adverse impacts on human health. The study highlights that aerosol acidity could partially offset the health benefits of emission reduction, indicating that acidity-related health effects should be considered for future air pollution control policies.

Direct Observation of Particle-To-Particle Variability in Ambient Aerosol pH Using a Novel Analytical Approach Based on Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

The pH of atmospheric aerosols is a key characteristic that profoundly influences their impacts on climate change, human health, and ecosystems. Despite widely performed aerosol pH research, determining the pH levels of individual atmospheric aerosol particles has been a challenge. This study presents a novel analytical technique that utilizes surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to assess the pH of individual ambient PM2.5-10 aerosol particles in conjunction with examining their hygroscopic behavior, morphology, and elemental compositions. The results revealed a substantial pH variation among simultaneously collected aerosol particles, ranging from 3.3 to 5.7. This variability is likely related to each particle's unique reaction and aging states. The extensive particle-to-particle pH variability suggests that atmospheric aerosols present at the same time and location can exhibit diverse reactivities, reaction pathways, phase equilibria, and phase separation properties. This pioneering study paves the way for in-depth investigations into particle-to-particle variability, size dependency, and detailed spatial and temporal variations of aerosol pH, thus deepening our understanding of atmospheric chemistry and its environmental implications.

Recent Progress in Atmospheric Chemistry Research in China: Establishing a Theoretical Framework for the "Air Pollution Complex"

Atmospheric chemistry research has been growing rapidly in China in the last 25 years since the concept of the "air pollution complex" was first proposed by Professor Xiaoyan TANG in 1997. For papers published in 2021 on air pollution (only papers included in the Web of Science Core Collection database were considered), more than 24 000 papers were authored or co-authored by scientists working in China. In this paper, we review a limited number of representative and significant studies on atmospheric chemistry in China in the last few years, including studies on (1) sources and emission inventories, (2) atmospheric chemical processes, (3) interactions of air pollution with meteorology, weather and climate, (4) interactions between the biosphere and atmosphere, and (5) data assimilation. The intention was not to provide a complete review of all progress made in the last few years, but rather to serve as a starting point for learning more about atmospheric chemistry research in China. The advances reviewed in this paper have enabled a theoretical framework for the air pollution complex to be established, provided robust scientific support to highly successful air pollution control policies in China, and created great opportunities in education, training, and career development for many graduate students and young scientists. This paper further highlights that developing and low-income countries that are heavily affected by air pollution can benefit from these research advances, whilst at the same time acknowledging that many challenges and opportunities still remain in atmospheric chemistry research in China, to hopefully be addressed over the next few decades.

Raman spectroscopy for profiling physical and chemical properties of atmospheric aerosol particles: A review

Atmosphere aerosols have significant impact on human health and the environment. Aerosol particles have a number of characteristics that influence their health and environmental effects, including their size, shape, and chemical composition. A great deal of difficulty is associated with quantifying and identifying atmospheric aerosols because these parameters are highly variable on a spatial and temporal scale. An important component of understanding aerosol fate is Raman Spectroscopy (RS), which is capable of resolving chemical compositions of individual particles. This review presented strategic techniques, especially RS methods for characterizing atmospheric aerosols. The nature and properties of atmospheric aerosols and their influence on environment and human health were briefly described. Analytical methodologies that offer insight into the chemistry and multidimensional properties of aerosols were discussed. In addition, perspectives for practical applications of atmospheric aerosols using RS are featured.

Spatiotemporally Resolved pH Measurement in Aerosol Microdroplets Undergoing Chloride Depletion: An Application of In Situ Raman Microspectrometry

Acidity is a defining property of atmospheric aerosols that profoundly affects environmental systems, human health, and climate. However, directly measuring the pH of aerosol microdroplets remains a challenge, especially when the microdroplets' composition is nonhomogeneous or dynamically evolving or both. As a result, a pH measurement technique with high spatiotemporal resolution is needed. Here, we report a spatiotemporally resolved pH measurement technique in microdroplets using spontaneous Raman spectroscopy. Our target sample was the microdroplets comprising sodium chloride and oxalic acid─laboratory surrogates of sea spray aerosols and water-soluble organic compounds, respectively. Our measurements show that the chloride depletion from the microdroplets caused a continuous increase in pH by ∼0.5 units in 2 hours. Meanwhile, the surface propensity of chloride anions triggers a stable pH gradient inside a single droplet, with the pH at the droplet surface lower than that at the core by ∼ 0.4 units. The uncertainties arising from the Raman detection limit (±0.08 pH units) and from the nonideal solution conditions (-0.06 pH units) are constrained. Our findings indicate that spontaneous Raman spectroscopy is a simple yet robust technique for precise pH measurement in aerosols with high spatiotemporal resolution.

Aerosol pH and Ion Activities of HSO4- and SO42- in Supersaturated Single Droplets

Accurate determination of acidity (pH) and ion activities in aqueous droplets is a major experimental and theoretical challenge for understanding and simulating atmospheric multiphase chemistry. Here, we develop a ratiometric Raman spectroscopy method to measure the equilibrium concentration of sulfate (SO₄^2-) and bisulfate (HSO₄^-) in single microdroplets levitated by aerosol optical tweezers. This approach enables determination of ion activities and pH in aqueous sodium bisulfate droplets under highly supersaturated conditions. The experimental results were compared against aerosol thermodynamic model calculations in terms of simulating aerosol ion concentrations, ion activity coefficients, and pH. We found that the Extended Aerosol Inorganics Model (E-AIM) can well reproduce the experimental results. The alternative model ISORROPIA, however, exhibits substantial deviations in SO₄^2- and HSO₄^- concentrations and up to a full unit of aerosol pH under acidic conditions, mainly due to discrepancies in simulating ion activity coefficients of SO₄^2--HSO₄^- equilibrium. Globally, this may cause an average deviation of ISORROPIA from E-AIM by 25 and 65% in predicting SO₄^2- and HSO₄^- concentrations, respectively. Our results show that it is important to determine aerosol pH and ion activities in the investigation of sulfate formation and related aqueous phase chemistry.

Water as a Probe for Standardization of Near-Infrared Spectra by Mutual-Individual Factor Analysis

The standardization of near-infrared (NIR) spectra is essential in practical applications, because various instruments are generally employed. However, standardization is challenging due to numerous perturbations, such as the instruments, testing environments, and sample compositions. In order to explain the spectral changes caused by the various perturbations, a two-step standardization technique was presented in this work called mutual–individual factor analysis (MIFA). Taking advantage of the sensitivity of a water probe to perturbations, the spectral information from a water spectral region was gradually divided into mutual and individual parts. With aquaphotomics expertise, it can be found that the mutual part described the overall spectral features among instruments, whereas the individual part depicted the difference of component structural changes in the sample caused by operation and the measurement conditions. Furthermore, the spectral difference was adjusted by the coefficients in both parts. The effectiveness of the method was assessed by using two NIR datasets of corn and wheat, respectively. The results showed that the standardized spectra can be successfully predicted by using the partial least squares (PLS) models developed with the spectra from the reference instrument. Consequently, the MIFA offers a viable solution to standardize the spectra obtained from several instruments when measurements are affected by multiple factors.

Direct Measurement of pH Evolution in Aerosol Microdroplets Undergoing Ammonium Depletion: A Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Approach

Accurately measuring the pH of atmospheric aerosols is a prerequisite for understanding the multiphase chemistry that profoundly affects the environment and climate systems. Despite the advancements of experimental techniques for in situ pH measurements in aerosols, current studies are limited to measuring the static pH of aerosol microdroplets with an unperturbed composition. This steady-state scenario, however, deviates from the real-world aerosols undergoing atmospheric aging reactions, specifically, those characterized with a spontaneous displacement of strong bases (or acids) with high volatility. Here, we introduce a continuous and in situ measurement of aerosol pH by using a 4-mercaptopyridine-functionalized silver nanoparticle probe and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. We find that the ammonium depletion─a spontaneous displacement of ammonium by dicarboxylic acid salts─continuously acidifies aerosol water over time. The decaying trends of pH in the aerosols under various humidity conditions can be unified with a universal exponential function. Such an exponentially decaying function further indicates that the ammonium depletion reaction is a self-limiting process. Our technique can be applied to study the dynamic change of aerosol acidity during the complex atmospheric aging processes, toward elucidating their implications on atmospheric chloride, nitrate, and ammonium cycles.