Chemical Morphology of Frozen Mixed Nitrate–Salt Solutions

Uptake of Hydrogen Peroxide from the Gas Phase to Grain Boundaries: A Source in Snow and Ice

Hydrogen peroxide is a primary atmospheric oxidant significant in terminating gas-phase chemistry and sulfate formation in the condensed phase. Laboratory experiments have shown an unexpected oxidation acceleration by hydrogen peroxide in grain boundaries. While grain boundaries are frequent in natural snow and ice and are known to host impurities, it remains unclear how and to which extent hydrogen peroxide enters this reservoir. We present the first experimental evidence for the diffusive uptake of hydrogen peroxide into grain boundaries directly from the gas phase. We have machined a novel flow reactor system featuring a drilled ice flow tube that allows us to discern the effect of the ice grain boundary content on the uptake. Further, adsorption to the ice surface for temperatures from 235 to 258 K was quantified. Disentangling the contribution of these two uptake processes shows that the transfer of hydrogen peroxide from the atmosphere to snow at temperatures relevant to polar environments is considerably more pronounced than previously thought. Further, diffusive uptake to grain boundaries appears to be a novel mechanism for non-acidic trace gases to fill the highly reactive impurity reservoirs in snow's grain boundaries.

Chemical Morphology Controls Reactivity of OH Radicals at the Air-Ice Interface

At the air-ice interface, some aromatic compounds such as benzene and anthracene are surprisingly unreactive toward OH. This may be a consequence of the poor solvation of these compounds at the interface, resulting in clustering there. We test this hypothesis by comparing the reaction of OH with pyrene, a 4-ring polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), to reactions of OH with the more water-soluble compounds coumarin and 7-hydroxycoumarin (7OHC). We observe that OH reacts readily with coumarin and 7OHC at both liquid and frozen air-water interfaces. Pyrene, a much less soluble compound, reacts with OH at the liquid surface but not at the air-ice interface. We report evidence of pyrene aggregation at the ice surface based on its broadened and red-shifted emission spectrum alongside fluorescence mapping of anthracene, a closely related 3-ring PAH, which shows bunching at the ice surface. By contrast, fluorescence mapping shows that coumarin is fairly homogeneously distributed at the air-ice interface. Together, these results suggest that the limited reactivity of some compounds toward OH at the ice surface may be a consequence of their propensity to self-aggregate, demonstrating that chemical morphology can play an important role in reactions at the ice surface.

Emerging investigator series: spatial distribution of dissolved organic matter in ice and at air-ice interfaces

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a common solute in snow and ice at Earth's surface. Its effects on reaction kinetics in ice and at air-ice interfaces can be large, but are currently difficult to quantify. We used Raman microscopy to characterize the surface and bulk of frozen aqueous solutions containing humic acid, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and citric acid at a range of concentrations and temperatures. The surface-active species (humic acid and SDS) were distributed differently than citric acid. Humic acid and SDS are almost completely excluded to the air-ice interface during freezing, where they form a film that coats the surface nearly completely. A liquid layer that coats the majority of the surface was observed at all humic acid and SDS concentrations. Citric acid, which is smaller and less surface active, is excluded to liquid channels at the air-ice interface and within the ice bulk, as has previously been reported for ionic solutes such as sodium chloride. Incomplete surface wetting was observed at all citric acid concentrations and at all temperatures (up to -5 °C). Citric acid appears to be solvated in frozen samples, but SDS and humic acid do not. These results will improve our understanding of the effects of organic solutes on environmental and atmospheric chemistry within ice and at air-ice interfaces.

Nitrate Photochemistry at the Air-Ice Interface and in Other Ice Reservoirs

The photolysis of snowpack nitrate (NO₃^-) is an important source of gaseous reactive nitrogen species that affect atmospheric oxidants, particularly in remote regions. However, it is unclear whether nitrate photochemistry differs between the three solute reservoirs in/on ice: in liquid-like regions (LLRs) in the ice; within the solid ice matrix; and in a quasi-liquid layer (QLL) at the air-ice interface, where past work indicates photolysis is enhanced. In this work, we explore the photoformation of nitrite in these reservoirs using laboratory ices. Nitrite quantum yields, Φ(NO₂^-), at 313 nm for aqueous and LLR ice samples agree with previous values, e.g., 0.65 ± 0.07% at -10 °C. For ice samples made via flash-freezing solution in liquid nitrogen, where nitrate is possibly present as a solid solution, the nitrite quantum yield is 0.57 ± 0.05% at -10 °C, similar to the LLR results. In contrast, the quantum yield at the air-ice interface is enhanced by a factor of 3.7 relative to LLRs, with a value of 2.39 ± 0.24%. These results indicate nitrate photolysis is enhanced at the air-ice interface, although the importance of this enhancement in the environment depends on the amount of nitrate present at the interface.