New particle formation (NPF) events have been observed in diverse atmospheric environments, but the chemical species and mechanisms responsible for NPF remain to be fully understood and reproduced in atmospheric models. Globally, NPF events account for more than 50% of the population in tropospheric aerosol loading, which profoundly impacts human health, weather, and climate. Recent experimental, field, and modeling  investigations reveal that NPF events are dependent on sulfate, basic species such ammonia and amines, preexisting particles, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). To elucidate the role of organic compounds in NPF, we have conducted laboratory experiments to investigate aerosol nucleation and growth from photochemical oxidation of several biogenic and anthropogenic VOCs. The experiments are conducted using a comprehensive suite of instruments to detect the trace gases and aerosols, including a Proton Transfer Reaction � Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS), an ion drift � chemical ionization mass spectrometer (ID-CIMS), a Condensation Particle Counter (CPC), a Nano Differential Mobility Analyzer (NDMA), an Thermal Desorption - Ion Drift - Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (TD-ID-CIMS), and an indoor environmental chamber from which the time-resolved particle size distributions, concentrations, and particle compositions are obtained. In this talk, the results from these experiments will be presented, and the implications of our study on atmospheric NPF will be discussed.

Investigation on the roles of organics in atmospheric new particle formation

247th National Meeting (2014)

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