Criegee Intermediates React with Levoglucosan on Water

Levoglucosan (Levo), a C₆-anhydrosaccharide produced in the combustion of cellulosic materials, is the major component of aerosols produced from biomass burning over vast regions worldwide. Levo has long been considered chemically inert and thus has been used as a tracer of biomass burning sources. However, we now show that sugars including Levo, glucose, arabitol, and mannitol react rapidly with Criegee intermediates (CIs) generated during the ozonolysis of sesquiterpenes on the surface of water:acetonitrile microjets. Hydrophilic Levo reacts faster with CIs than with water or surface-active 1-octanol at air-aqueous interfaces. This unexpected phenomenon is likely associated with the relatively low water density at air-aqueous interfaces coupled with a higher gas-phase acidity of the saccharide hydroxyl groups (i.e., -OH) versus n-alkanols. Results presented herein show that aerosol saccharides are in fact reactive toward CIs. Given the abundance of saccharides in the atmosphere, they may be important contributors to the growth and mass loading of secondary organic aerosols.

Reactions of Criegee Intermediates with Alcohols at Air-Aqueous Interfaces

The fate of Criegee intermediates (CIs) from the gas-phase ozonolysis of unsaturated organic compounds in the troposphere is largely controlled by their reactions with water vapor. We recently found that against all expectations carboxylic acids compete at millimolar concentrations with water for CIs at the air-liquid interface of aqueous organic media. This outcome is consistent with both the low water concentration in the outermost interfacial layers and the enrichment of the competing acids therein. Here we show, via online electrospray mass spectrometric detection, that CIs generated in situ in the fast ozonolysis of sesquiterpenes (C₁₅H₂₄) on the surface of water:acetonitrile microjets react with n ≥ 4 linear alcohols C_nH_2n+1OH to produce high molecular weight C_15+n ethers in one step. The OH group of 1-octanol proved to be ∼25 times less reactive than that of n-octanoic toward CIs at the same bulk molar concentration, revealing that the reactivity of hydroxylic species depends on both acidities and interfacial affinities. CI interfacial reactions with surface-active hydroxylic species, by bypassing water, represent shortcuts to molecular complexity in atmospheric aerosols.

Criegee Chemistry on Aqueous Organic Surfaces

In the troposphere, the fate of gas-phase Criegee intermediates (CIs) is deemed to be determined by their reactions with water molecules. Here it is shown that CIs produced in situ on the surface of water/acetonitrile (W/AN) solutions react competitively with millimolar carboxylic acids. Present experiments probe, via online electrospray mass spectrometry, CIs' chemistry on the surface of α-humulene and β-caryophyllene in W/AN microjets exposed to O₃(g) for <10 μs. Mass-specific identification lets us establish the progeny of products and intermediates generated in the early stages of CIs' reactions with H₂O, D₂O, H₂¹⁸O, and n-alkyl-COOH (n = 1-7). It is found that n-alkyl-COOH competes for CIs with interfacial water, their competitiveness being an increasing function of n. Present findings demonstrate that CIs can react with species other than H₂O on the surface of aqueous organic aerosols due to the low water concentrations prevalent in the outermost interfacial layers.

Low intensity, continuous wave photodoping of ZnO quantum dots – photon energy and particle size effects

Ethylene glycol capped quantum dots (1.7 < r (nm) < 2.7) are photocharged with electron densities that depend sigmoidally on the excess energy, E*, reaching at E* = 0.5 eV.

Efficient scavenging of Criegee intermediates on water by surface-active cis-pinonic acid

Criegee intermediates efficiently react with surface-active cis-pinonic acid rather than linear alkyl organic acids of similar size, or interfacial water molecules at air-aqueous interfaces.

Molecular control of reactive gas uptake "on water"

Reactive gas uptake on environmentally realistic aqueous surfaces is expected to be affected by a combination of multiple interactions. This issue is herein explored in experiments where the formation of Me(3)NH(+) on neat and doped water microjets exposed to Me(3)N(g) is monitored within <1 ms by online electrospray ionization mass spectrometry as a function of pH of the bulk liquid (pH(BLK)). Notably, Me(3)N(g) is protonated on the surface of neat water microjets below pH(BLK) approximately 4, rather than at pH(BLK) less than or approximately pK(A)(Me(3)NH(+)) = 9.8 as in bulk water. Me(3)N(g) uptake is significantly enhanced by anionic surfactants and fulvic acid (a surrogate of complex natural organic matter) above pH(BLK) approximately 4, uniformly depressed by cationics (which otherwise counteract FA effects), and unaffected by n-octanol. The direct hydrogen isotope effects associated with enhanced uptake of Me(3)N(g) on H(2)O/D(2)O microjets implicate a process controlled by proton transfer from interfacial donors whose coverage is electrostatically modulated by ionic headgroups. The finding that the combined effect of fulvic acid and tetrabutylammonium bromide closely matches the geometric mean of their separate effects on TMA uptake is evidence of strong dopant interactions.

Simultaneous detection of cysteine sulfenate, sulfinate, and sulfonate during cysteine interfacial ozonolysis

Sulfenic acids (RSOH) are reactive intermediates in the oxidation of protein cysteines. Among cysteine oxoforms, RSOH represent redox-reversible species that can thus participate in regulation and signaling mechanisms and play key roles in enzyme catalysis and antioxidant activity. How the cysteine (CyS) thiol groups of the human surfactant protein that lines the lung epithelium react with inhaled ozone is deemed critical in preserving structural integrity and immune functions. Here we report the simultaneous detection, by online thermospray ionization mass spectrometry, of cysteine sulfenate (CySO(-)) and the overoxidized cysteine sulfinate (CySO(2)(-)) and cysteine sulfonate (CySO(3)(-)) species on the surface of aqueous CyS microdroplets exposed to O(3)(g) for <1 ms. These species are produced by rapid, sequential O-atom additions whose relative rates are herein quantified for the first time. From the pH-dependence of ozonation rates, we derive pK(a)(CySOH) = 7.6 +/- 0.3 < pK(a)(CyS) = 8.3.

Acid dissociation versus molecular association of perfluoroalkyl oxoacids: environmental implications

Perfluorooctanoate (PFO) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) surfactant anions, once released, may rapidly reach remote regions. This phenomenon is puzzling because the water-bound anions of strong F-alkyl acids should be largely transported by slow oceanic currents. Herein, we investigate whether these hydrophobic F-alkyl oxoanions would behave anomalously under environmental conditions, as suggested elsewhere. Negative electrospray ionization mass spectra of micromolar aqueous PFO or PFOS solutions from pH 1.0 to 6.0 show (1) m/z = 499 (PFOS) signals that are independent of pH and (2) m/z = 413 (PFO) and 369 (PFO-CO(2)) signals, plus m/z = 213 (C(3)F(7)CO(2)(-)) and 169 (C(3)F(7)(-)) signals at higher collision energies, and, below pH approximately 4, m/z = 827 signals from a remarkably stable (PFO)(2)H(-) cluster that increase with decreasing pH. Since the sum of the m/z = 369, 413, and 827 signal intensities is independent of pH, that is, effectively encompasses all major species, we infer that pK(a)(PFOSA) < 1.0 and pK(a)(PFOA) < 1.0. We also derive K(2) < or = 4 x 10(7) M(-2) for the clustering equilibrium 2PFO + H(+) <==> (PFO)(2)H. Thus, although (PFO)(2)H is held together by an exceptionally strong homonuclear covalent hydrogen bond, neither PFOS nor PFO will associate or protonate significantly at environmentally relevant subnanomolar concentrations above pH approximately 1.

How phenol and alpha-tocopherol react with ambient ozone at gas/liquid interfaces

The exceptional ability of alpha-tocopherol (alpha-TOH) for scavenging free radicals is believed to also underlie its protective functions in respiratory epithelia. Phenols, however, can scavenge other reactive species. Herein, we report that alpha-TOH/alpha-TO(-) reacts with closed-shell O(3)(g) on the surface of inert solvent microdroplets in < 1 ms to produce persistent alpha-TO-O(n)(-)(n = 1-4) adducts detectable by online thermospray ionization mass spectrometry. The prototype phenolate PhO(-), in contrast, undergoes electron transfer under identical conditions. These reactions are deemed to occur at the gas/liquid interface because their rates: (1) depend on pH, (2) are several orders of magnitude faster than within microdroplets saturated with O(3)(g). They also fail to incorporate solvent into the products: the same alpha-TO-O(n)(-) species are formed on acetonitrile or nucleophilic methanol microdroplets. alpha-TO-O(n = 1-3)(-) signals initially evolve with [O(3)(g)] as expected from first-generation species, but alpha-TO-O(-) reacts further with O(3)(g) and undergoes collisionally induced dissociation into a C(19)H(40) fragment (vs C(19)H(38) from alpha-TO(-)) carrying the phytyl side chain, whereas the higher alpha-TO-O(n > or = 2)(-) homologues are unreactive toward O(3)(g) and split CO(2) instead. On this basis, alpha-TO-O(-) is assigned to a chroman-6-ol (4a, 8a)-ene oxide, alpha-TO-O(2)(-) to an endoperoxide, and alpha-TO-O(3)(-) to a secondary ozonide. The atmospheric degradation of the substituted phenols detected in combustion emissions is therefore expected to produce related oxidants on the aerosol particles present in the air we breathe.

Absorption of inhaled NO(2)

Nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), a sparingly water-soluble pi-radical gas, is a criteria air pollutant that induces adverse health effects. How is inhaled NO(2)(g) incorporated into the fluid microfilms lining respiratory airways remains an open issue because its exceedingly small uptake coefficient (gamma approximately 10(-7)-10(-8)) limits physical dissolution on neat water. Here, we investigate whether the biological antioxidants present in these fluids enhance NO(2)(g) dissolution by monitoring the surface of aqueous ascorbate, urate, and glutathione microdroplets exposed to NO(2)(g) for approximately 1 ms via online thermospray ionization mass spectrometry. We found that antioxidants catalyze the hydrolytic disproportionation of NO(2)(g), 2NO(2)(g) + H(2)O(l) = NO(3)(-)(aq) + H(+)(aq) + HONO, but are not consumed in the process. Because this function will be largely performed by chloride, the major anion in airway lining fluids, we infer that inhaled NO(2)(g) delivers H(+), HONO, and NO(3)(-) as primary transducers of toxic action without antioxidant participation.

Anion-catalyzed dissolution of NO2 on aqueous microdroplets

Fifty-seven years after NO(x) (NO + NO(2)) were identified as essential components of photochemical smog, atmospheric chemical models fail to correctly predict *OH/HO(2)* concentrations under NO(x)-rich conditions. This deficiency is due, in part, to the uncertain rates and mechanism for the reactive dissolution of NO(2)(g) (2NO(2) + H(2)O = NO(3)(-) + H(+) + HONO) in fog and aerosol droplets. Thus, state-of-the-art models parametrize the uptake of NO(2) by atmospheric aerosol from data obtained on "deactivated tunnel wall residue". Here, we report experiments in which NO(3)(-) production on the surface of microdroplets exposed to NO(2)(g) for approximately 1 ms is monitored by online thermospray mass spectrometry. NO(2) does not dissolve in deionized water (NO(3)(-) signals below the detection limit) but readily produces NO(3)(-) on aqueous NaX (X = Cl, Br, I) microdroplets with NO(2) uptake coefficients gamma that vary nonmonotonically with electrolyte concentration and peak at gamma(max) approximately 10(-4) for [NaX] approximately 1 mM, which is >10(3) larger than that in neat water. Since I(-) is partially oxidized to I(2)(*-) in this process, anions seem to capture NO(2)(g) into X-NO(2)(*-) radical anions for further reaction at the air/water interface. By showing that gamma is strongly enhanced by electrolytes, these results resolve outstanding discrepancies between previous measurements in neat water versus NaCl-seeded clouds. They also provide a general mechanism for the heterogeneous conversion of NO(2)(g) to (NO(3)(-) + HONO) on the surface of aqueous media.

Global Inorganic Source of Atmospheric Bromine

A few bromine molecules per trillion (ppt) causes the complete destruction of ozone in the lower troposphere during polar spring and about half of the losses associated with the "ozone hole" in the stratosphere. Recent field and aerial measurements of the proxy BrO in the free troposphere suggest an even more pervasive global role for bromine. Models, which quantify ozone trends by assuming atmospheric inorganic bromine (Bry) stems exclusively from long-lived bromoalkane gases, significantly underpredict BrO measurements. This discrepancy effectively implies a ubiquitous tropospheric background level of approximately 4 ppt Bry of unknown origin. Here, we report that I- efficiently catalyzes the oxidation of Br- and Cl- in aqueous nanodroplets exposed to ozone, the everpresent atmospheric oxidizer, under conditions resembling those encountered in marine aerosols. Br- and Cl-, which are rather unreactive toward O3 and were previously deemed unlikely direct precursors of atmospheric halogens, are readily converted into IBr2- and ICl2- en route to Br2(g) and Cl2(g) in the presence of I-. Fine sea salt aerosol particles, which are predictably and demonstrably enriched in I- and Br-, are thus expected to globally release photoactive halogen compounds into the atmosphere, even in the absence of sunlight.

Experimental anion affinities for the air/water interface

Anion affinities, gammaX-, for the aerial interface of aqueous (Br- + NO3- + I- + SCN- + BF4- + ClO4-) solutions are determined by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The composition of the ions ejected from the surface of fissioning nanodroplets shows that gammaX- increase (decrease) exponentially with anionic radii, aX-(dehydration free energies, dGX-), and selectively respond to the presence of surfactants. BF4-, the least hydrated and polarizable anion of the set, has one of the largest gammaX- values. Non-ionic surfactants decrease gammaI- and gammaSCN- but increase gammaBF4-. Cetyltrimethyl ammonium markedly enhances the gammaX- of smaller anions. A similar but weaker effect is observed upon lowering the pH of the bulk solutions from 8.2 to 3.0. Dodecyl sulfate has a negligible effect on gammaX-. Considering that (i) universal many-body electrodynamic interactions will progressively stabilize the interfacial layer as its dielectric permittivity falls relative to that of the bulk solution and (ii) water permittivity is uniformly depressed by increasing concentrations of these anions, we infer that the observed Hofmeister correlation, ln gammaX- infinity - dGX-, is consistent with the optimal depression of the permittivity of the drier interfacial layer by the least hydrated ions. Interfacial ion-ion interactions can significantly influence gammaX- in environmental aqueous media.

Acidity of Frozen Electrolyte Solutions

Ice is selectively intolerant to impurities. A preponderance of implanted anions or cations generates electrical imbalances in ice grown from electrolyte solutions. Since the excess charges are ultimately neutralized via interfacial (H(+)/HO(-)) transport, the acidity of the unfrozen portion can change significantly and permanently. This insufficiently recognized phenomenon should critically affect rates and equilibria in frozen media. Here we report the effective (19)F NMR chemical shift of 3-fluorobenzoic acid as in situ probe of the acidity of extensively frozen electrolyte solutions. The sign and magnitude of the acidity changes associated with freezing are largely determined by specific ion combinations, but depend also on solute concentration and/or the extent of supercooling. NaCl solutions become more basic, those of (NH(4))(2)SO(4) or Na(2)SO(4) become more acidic, while solutions of the 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid zwitterion barely change their acidity upon freezing. We discuss how acidity scales based on solid-state NMR measurements could be used to assess the degree of ionization of weak acids and bases in frozen media.

Photoinduced Oligomerization of Aqueous Pyruvic Acid

The 320 nm-band photodecarboxylation of aqueous pyruvic acid (PA), a representative of the alpha-oxocarboxylic acids widely found in the atmospheric aerosol, yields 2,3-dimethyltartaric (A) and 2-(3-oxobutan-2-yloxy)-2-hydroxypropanoic (B) acids, rather than 3-hydroxy-2-oxobutanone as previously reported. A and B are identified by liquid chromatography with UV and ESI-MS detection, complemented by collisionally induced dissociation and 2H and 13C isotope labeling experiments. The multifunctional ether B gives rise to characteristic delta approximately 80 ppm 13C NMR resonances. Product quantum yields are proportional to [PA](a + [PA])(-1) in the range [PA] = 5-100 mM. CO2(g) release rates are halved, while A and B are suppressed by the addition of >1.5 mM TEMPO. A and B are only partially quenched in air-saturated solutions. These observations are shown to be consistent with an oligomerization process initiated by a bimolecular reaction between 3PA and PA producing ketyl, CH3C(OH)C(O)OH, and acetyl, CH3C(O)*, radicals, rather than by the unimolecular decomposition of 3PA into 1-hydroxyethylidene, 3HO(CH3)C: (+CO2), or [CH(3)C(O)* + *C(O)OH] pairs. A arises from the dimerization of ketyl radicals, while B ensues the facile decarboxylation of the C8beta-ketoacid formed by association of acetyl radicals with the ketyl radical adduct of PA. Since the radical precursors to A and B are scavenged by O2 with a low probability per encounter (k(sc) approximately 1 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1)), PA is able to accrete into multifunctional polar species in aerated aqueous media under solar illumination.

Kinetics of NO and NO2 Evolution from Illuminated Frozen Nitrate Solutions

The release of NO and NO2 from frozen aqueous NaNO3 irradiated at 313 nm was studied using time-resolved spectroscopic techniques. The kinetic behavior of NO and NO2 signals during on-and-off illumination cycles confirms that NO2 is a primary photoproduct evolving from the outermost ice layers and reveals that NO is a secondary species generated deeper in the ice, whence it eventually emerges due to its inertness and larger diffusivity. NO is shown to be more weakly held than NO2 by ice in thermal desorption experiments on preirradiated samples. The partial control of gaseous emissions by mass transfer, and hence by the morphology and metamorphisms of polycrystalline ice, is established by (1) the nonmonotonic temperature dependence of NO and NO2 signals upon stepwise warming under continuous illumination, (2) the fact that the NO, NO2 or NOx (NOx identical with NO + NO2) amounts released in bright thermograms performed under various heating ramps fail to scale with photon dose, due to irreversible losses in the adsorbed state. Because present NO/NO2 ratios are up to 10-fold smaller than those determined over sunlit snowpacks, we infer that the immediate precursors to NO mostly absorb at lambda > lambda(max) (NO3-) approximately 302 nm.

Photogeneration of Distant Radical Pairs in Aqueous Pyruvic Acid Glasses

The lambda > 300 nm photolysis of h4- or d4-pyruvic acid aqueous glasses at 77 K yields identical electron magnetic resonance (EMR) spectra arising from distant (r greater or similar 0.5 nm) triplet radical pairs. Spectra comprise: (1) well-resolved quartets, X, at g approximately ge, that closely match the powder spectra of spin pairs interacting across r approximately 1.0 nm with D approximately 3.0 mT, E approximately 0 mT zero field splittings (ZFS), and (2) broad signals, Y, centered at g approximately 2.07 that display marked g-anisotropy and g-strain, exclude D greater or similar 20.0 mT values (i.e., r less or similar 0.5 spin nm separations), and track the temperature dependence of related g approximately 4 features. These results imply that the n-pi excitation of pyruvic acid, PA, induces long-range electron transfer from the promoted carbonyl chromophore into neighboring carbonyl acceptors, rather than homolysis into contact radical pairs or concerted decarboxylation into a carbene. Since PA is associated into hydrogen-bonded dimers prior to vitrification, X signals arise from radical pairs ensuing intradimer electron transfer to a locked acceptor, while Y signals involve carbonyl groups attached to randomly arranged, disjoint monomers. The ultrafast decarboxylation of primary radical ion pairs, 3[PA+* PA-*], accounts for the release of CO2 under cryogenic conditions, the lack of thermal hysteresis displayed by magnetic signals between 10 and 160 K, and averted charge retrotransfer. All EMR signals disappear irreversibly above the onset of ice diffusivity at approximately 190 K.

Photochemical Production and Release of Gaseous NO2from Nitrate-Doped Water Ice

Temperature-programmed NO2 emissions from frozen aqueous NaNO3 solutions irradiated at 313 nm were monitored as function of nitrate concentration and heating rate, H, above -30 degrees C. Emissions increase nonmonotonically with temperature, displaying transitions suggestive of underlying metamorphic transformations. Thus, NO2 emissions surge at ca. -8 degrees C in frozen [NO3-] > 200 microM samples warmed at H = 0.70 degrees C min(-1) under continuous irradiation, and also in the dark from samples that had been photolyzed at -30 degrees C. The amounts of NO2 released in individual thermograms, SigmaN, increase less than linearly with [NO3-] or the duration of experiments, revealing the significant loss of photogenerated NO2. The actual SigmaN proportional, variant [NO3-]1/2 dependence (at constant H) is consistent with NO2 hydrolysis: 2NO2 + H2O --> NO3- + NO2- + 2H+, overtaking NO2 desorption, even below the eutectic point (-18 degrees C for aqueous NaNO3). The increasingly larger NO2 losses detected in longer experiments (at constant [NO3-]) are ascribed to secondary photolysis of trapped NO2. The relevance of present results to the interpretation of polar NO2 measurements is briefly analyzed.

Hydrogen Isotope Effects and Mechanism of Aqueous Ozone and Peroxone Decompositions

Hydrogen peroxide exalts the reactivity of aqueous ozone by reasons that remain obscure. Should H2O2 enhance free radical production, as it is generally believed, a chain mechanism propagated by (.OH/.O2-) species would account for O3 decomposition rates in neat H2O, HR-O3, and in peroxone (O3 + H2O2) solutions, HPR-O3. We found, however, that: (1) the radical mechanism correctly predicts HR-O3 but vastly overestimates HPR-O3, (2) solvent deuteration experiments preclude radical products from the (O3 + HO2-) reaction. The modest kinetic isotope effect (KIE) we measure in H2O/D2O: HR-O3/DR-O3 = 1.5 +/- 0.3, is compatible with a chain process driven by electron- and/or O-atom transfer processes. But the large KIE found in peroxone: HPR-O3/DPR-O3 = 19.6 +/- 4.0, is due to an elementary (O3 + HO2-) reaction involving H-O2- bond cleavage. Since the KIE for the hypothetical H-atom transfer: O3 + HO2- HO3. +.O2-, would emerge as a KIE1/2 factor in the rates of the ensuing radical chain, the magnitude of the observed KIE must be associated with the hydride transfer reaction that yields a diamagnetic species: O3 + HO2- HO3- + O2. HO3-/H2O3 may be the bactericidal trioxide recently identified in the antibody-catalyzed addition of O2(1Deltag) to H2O.

Soluble sunscreens fully protect E. coli from disinfection by electrohydraulic discharges

We show that the ultraviolet radiation emitted, rather than the thermal/pressure shocks or the chemical species that are generated in these events, is the lethal agent that inactivates Escherichia coli colonies exposed to electrohydraulic discharges, EHD. Disinfection is completely suppressed in the presence of <100 mg L(-1) of 2,2'-dihydroxy-4,4'-dimethoxybenzophenone-5,5'-disulfonic acid, BP9, a commercial water-soluble sunscreen. Viable bacteria decay by logit kinetics with the number of EHD. The fact that the slopes of the logit plots depend inversely on BP9 concentration, and vanish above approximately 30 mg BP9 L(-1), is direct evidence that E. coli is exclusively sterilized by UV radiation in these experiments. Present LD50 photon doses are about 10(3) times larger than those required from low-power germicidal lamps, indicating that high-intensity radiation is able to further promote into inactive channels the lower excited state(s) of nucleic acids responsible for DNA damage. The present study confirms the existence of a significant trade-off between photon efficiency and radiative power in bacterial disinfection by UV light.