Kinetics and Mechanism of OH Oxidation of Small Organic Dicarboxylic Acids in Ice: Comparison to Behavior in Aqueous Solution

Peroxides on the Surface of Organic Aerosol Particles Using Matrix-Assisted Ionization in Vacuum (MAIV) Mass Spectrometry

Organic peroxides are key intermediates in the atmosphere but are challenging to detect, especially in the particle phase, due to their instability, which has led to substantial gaps in the understanding of their environmental effects. We demonstrate that matrix-assisted ionization in vacuum (MAIV) mass spectrometry (MS), which does not require an ionization source, enables in situ characterization of peroxides and other products in the surface layers of organic particles. Hydroxyl radical oxidation of glutaric acid particles yields hydroperoxides and organic peroxides, which were detected with signals of the same order of magnitude as the major, more stable products. Product identification is supported by MS/MS analysis, peroxide standards, and offline high-resolution MS. The peroxide signals relative to the stable carbonyl and alcohol products are significantly larger using MAIV compared to those in the offline bulk analysis. This is also the case for analysis using fast, online easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry. These studies demonstrate the advantage of MAIV for the real-time characterization of labile peroxides in the surface layers of solid particles. The presence of peroxides on the surface may be important for surface oxidation processes as well as for the toxicity of inhaled particles.

T- and pH-dependent OH radical reaction kinetics with glycine, alanine, serine, and threonine in the aqueous phase

Glycine, alanine, serine, and threonine are essential amino acids originating from biological activities. These substances can be emitted into the atmosphere directly. In the present study, the aqueous phase reaction kinetics of hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) with the four amino acids is investigated using the competition kinetics method under controlled temperature and pH conditions. The following T-dependent Arrhenius expressions are derived for the ˙OH reactions with glycine, k(T, H₂A⁺) = (9.1 ± 0.3) × 10⁹ × exp[(-2360 ± 230 K)/T], k(T, HA^±) = (1.3 ± 0.1) × 10¹⁰ × exp[(-2040 ± 240 K)/T]; alanine, k(T, H₂A⁺) = (1.4 ± 0.1) × 10⁹ × exp[(-1120 ± 320 K)/T], k(T, HA^±) = (5.5 ± 0.2) × 10⁹ × exp[(-1300 ± 200 K)/T]; serine, k(T, H₂A⁺) = (1.1 ± 0.1) × 10⁹ × exp[(-470 ± 150 K)/T], k(T, HA^±) = (3.9 ± 0.1) × 10⁹ × exp[(-720 ± 130 K)/T]; and threonine, k(T, H₂A⁺) = (5.0 ± 0.1) × 10¹⁰ × exp[(-1500 ± 100 K)/T], k(T, HA^±) = (3.3 ± 0.1) × 10¹⁰ × exp[(-1320 ± 90 K)/T] (in units of L mol^-1 s^-1). The energy barriers of the ˙OH-induced H atom abstractions were simulated by the density functional theory (DFT) calculation performed with GAUSSIAN using the method of M06-2X and the basis set of 6-311++G(3df,2p). According to the calculation results, the -COOH and -NH₃⁺ groups with strong negative inductive effects increase the energy barriers and thus decrease the ˙OH reaction rate constants. In contrast, the presence of a -OH or -CH₃ group with weak negative or positive inductive effects can reduce energy barriers and hence increase the ˙OH reaction rate constants. To improve the previous structure-activity relationship, the contribution factors of -NH₃⁺ at C_α-atom and C_β-atom are determined as 0.07 and 0.15, respectively. Aqueous phase ˙OH oxidation acts as an important sink of the amino acids in the atmosphere, and can be accurately described by the obtained Arrhenius expressions under atmospheric conditions.

pH- and Temperature-Dependent Kinetics of the Oxidation Reactions of OH with Succinic and Pimelic Acid in Aqueous Solution

Rate constants for the aqueous-phase reactions of the hydroxyl radical with the dicarboxylic acids, succinic acid and pimelic acid were determined using the relative rate technique over the temperature range 287 K ≤ T ≤ 318 K and at pH = 2.0, 4.6 or 4.9 and 8.0. OH radicals were generated by H2O2 laser flash photolysis while thiocyanate was used as a competitor. The pH values were adjusted to obtain the different speciation of the dicarboxylic acids. The following Arrhenius expressions were determined (in units of L mol−1 s−1):  succinic acid, k(T, AH2) (2.1 ± 0.1) × 1010 exp[(−1530 ± 250 K)/T], k(T, AH−) (1.8 ± 0.1) × 1010 exp[(−1070 ± 370 K)/T], k(T, A2−) (2.9 ± 0.2) × 1011 exp[(−1830 ± 350 K)/T] and pimelic acid, k(T, AH2) (7.3 ± 0.2) × 1010 exp[(−1040 ± 140 K)/T], k(T, AH−) (1.8 ± 0.1) × 1011 exp[(−1200 ± 240 K)/T], k(T, A2−) (1.4 ± 0.1) × 1012 exp[(−1830 ± 110 K)/T]. A general OH radical reactivity trend for dicarboxylic acids was found as k(AH2) < k(AH−) < k(A2−). By using the pH and temperature dependent rate constants, source and sinking processes in the tropospheric aqueous phase can be described precisely.

Dissolved organic matter in the deep TALDICE ice core: A nano-UPLC-nano-ESI-HRMS method

Trace organic compounds in deep ice cores supply important paleoclimatic information. Untargeted analyses of dissolved organic matter provide an overview of molecular species in ice samples however, sample volumes usually required for these analyses are generally not available from deep ice cores. Here, we developed an analytical method using a nano-UPLC-nano-ESI-HRMS to detect major molecular species in ice cores. Samples (4 µL) from the TALos Dome Ice CorE (TALDICE), allowed investigating molecular species across a range of depths including during glacial and interglacial periods. We detected 317 chemical species that were tentatively assigned to fatty acids, hydroxy fatty acids and their degradation products (oxo-fatty acids and dicarboxylic acids), as well as oxidation byproducts of isoprene and monoterpenes. These compounds indicate that the main sources of the organic fraction are microbes as well as primary and secondary aerosols. Interglacial samples encompass a wide range of species including compounds from the oxidation of isoprene and monoterpenes as well as unsaturated fatty acids, while the glacial samples contained less diverse species. This difference may be due to decreased temperatures during the glacial period inhibiting terrestrial vegetation growth and increasing the sea ice extent, thereby weakening the emission sources.

Enhanced kinetics of pseudo first-order hydrolysis in liquid phase coexistent with ice

The reaction rate of the hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate (FDA) is several times larger in the frozen state than that in the unfrozen solution of the same composition at the same temperature. The freeze concentration of reactants in the liquid phase expelled form ice crystals cannot explain the kinetic enhancement of pseudo first order reactions such as the FDA hydrolysis. However, the reaction rate increases as the freeze concentration ratio becomes larger at a constant temperature. Direct pH measurements have revealed that the basicity of the liquid phase is unchanged at any concentration ratio, suggesting that the reactivity enhancement is not caused by increased basicity. The reaction rate enhancement is clearly related to the size of the space in which the liquid phase is confined upon freezing. The ice wall itself or the water structure formed near the wall should thus be responsible for this kinetic enhancement.

Investigation of aqueous-phase photooxidation of glyoxal and methylglyoxal by aerosol chemical ionization mass spectrometry: observation of hydroxyhydroperoxide formation

Aqueous-phase processing of glyoxal (GLY) and methylglyoxal (MG) produces highly oxygenated, less volatile organic acids that can contribute to SOA formation and aging. In this study, aerosol chemical ionization mass spectrometry (aerosol CIMS) is employed to monitor aqueous-phase photooxidation of GLY and MG. Using iodide (I(-)) as the reagent ion, aerosol CIMS can simultaneously detect important species involved in the reactions: organic acids, peroxides, and aldehydes, so that the reconstructed total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations from aerosol CIMS data agree well with offline TOC analysis. This study also reports the first direct detection of hydroxyhydroperoxide (HHP) formation from the reaction of H(2)O(2) with GLY or MG. The formation of HHPs is observed to be reversible and an estimate of their equilibrium constants is made to be between 40 and 200 M(-1). Results of this study suggest that HHPs can form additional formic acid and acetic acid via photooxidation and regenerate GLY or MG during photooxidation, compensating their loss. HHP formation needs to be further studied for inclusion in aqueous-phase chemical models given that it may affect the aqueous partitioning of carbonyls in the atmosphere.