Glyoxal (GL) is one of the most abundant atmospheric aldehydes and contributes significantly to the formation of aqueous secondary organic aerosol (aqSOA). However, the molecular nature of GL in these aerosol is not well understood due to its proclivity towards hydration and oligomerization reactions. GL can hydrate at each of its two carbonyl moieties to form the GL tetrol in solution. Furthermore, it readily self-reacts to form GL dimers, trimers, and other larger molecular weight oligomers. While GL itself would not be expected to be particularly surface active, its oligomer products may well be and thus they would have the potential to affect the interfacial properties of the aqSOA in which they reside. For this reason, vibrational sum frequency (VSF) spectroscopy, a surface selective technique, has been employed to investigate GL at the air-water water interface in combination with Wilhelmy plate surface tensiometry. The results do indeed show surface-active species and VSF spectra contain contributions attributed to GL oligomers. This work provides much need information necessary to understand and model the atmospheric fate of GL containing aqSOA.<br/>

VSFS studies of glyoxal and its surface-active oligomers at the air-water interface

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.