Nitrate is an abundant component of aerosols, the thin aqueous films coating boundary layer surfaces, and in surface water. Nitrate photolysis generates gas phase nitrogen dioxide and nitrous acid, both of which contribute to tropospheric ozone production. It is understood that when exposed to actinic irradiation, nitrate will photolyze via two pathways, one which generates nitrogen dioxide, and the other nitrite. In this presentation, we will describe results of experiments that used cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy to simultaneously measure gas phase nitrogen dioxide and nitrous acid evolved during the photolysis of sodium nitrate dissolved in aqueous solution as a function of several critical environmental variables. These laboratory results reveal important insights into the photochemical mechanisms for the formation of nitrous acid in the lower atmosphere.

Nitrous acid and nitrogen dioxide from nitrate photochemistry in aqueous solutions

248th National Meeting (2014)

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