Glycolaldehyde is a C2 water-soluble aldehyde produced during the atmospheric oxidation of isoprene and many other species. Glycolaldehyde has been shown to fully evaporate from quickly drying aerosol droplets containing ammonium sulfate (AS), which implies that it does not form oligomers as readily as glyoxal or methylglyoxal. Here we measured glycolaldehyde’s bulk-phase reactions rates with methylamine and glycine and find them similar to those of glyoxal in the pH range 3 - 6. Furthermore, in large chamber experiments glycine and AS seeds were found to take up glycolaldehyde in humid environments. After cloud processing, secondary organic aerosol particles were filtered, extracted with methanol, and analyzed by high-resolution UPLC-ESI-MS. Many C4 – C16 imidazole derivatives were detected in the SOA extract, along with a predominance of C6 and C12 glycolaldehyde oligomers including the key intermediate species <i>3</i>-deoxyglucosone.

Kinetics, products, and brown carbon formation by aqueous-phase reactions of glycolaldehyde with atmospheric amines and ammonium sulfate

ACS Spring 2022

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