The focus of this project is to determine the physical properties of products formed from the aqueous phase reactions of glyoxal with hydroxyl radicals. Glyoxal is the most abundant dialdehyde in the atmosphere and contributes to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), which contributes to climate change. The climate is affected directly when solar radiation is absorbed or deflected and indirectly by clouds that form on aerosols (cloud condensation nuclei). A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) equipped with a humidity controlled flow cell is used to measure the deliquescence of a variety of reaction solutions. Solutions are aspirated onto the quartz crystal and subsequently dried, then exposed to increasing humidity. Understanding SOA in aqueous aerosols has the potential to eliminate the gap between predicted and measured SOA. Here, we describe the specific characteristics of the aqueous reaction of dialdehydes commonly present in the atmosphere as well as the effect the presence of salts has on the deliquescence of the resultant solutions.

Characterization of aqueous glyoxal oxidation in the presence of salts using quartz crystal microbalance

251st National Meeting (2016)

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