A single-ultrafine-particle mass spectrometer was constructed and deployed for size-resolved ultrafine aerosol composition measurements during the winter of 2002-2003 in College Station, Texas. Three separate experiments were held between December and March with six week intervals. Almost 128,000 mass spectra, corresponding to particles with aerodynamic diameters between 35 and 300 nm, were collected and classified. Fifteen statistically significant classes were identified and are discussed in this paper. Nitrate, potassium, carbon, and silicon/silicon oxide were the most frequently observed ions. Nitrate was present in most of the particles, probably due to the agricultural activity in the vicinity of the sampling site. The nitrate detection frequency was found to be sensitive to the ambient temperature and relative humidity. Another particle class, identified as an amine, exhibited strong relative humidity dependence, appearing only during periods of low relative humidity. There is evidence that some of the detected particles originated from the large urban centers, and were coated with nitrate, sulfate, and organics during transport.

A single-ultrafine-particle mass spectrometer was constructed and deployed for size-resolved ultrafine aerosol composition measurements during the winter of 2002-2003 in College Station, Texas. Three separate experiments were held between December and March with six week intervals. Almost 128,000 mass spectra, corresponding to particles with aerodynamic diameters between 35 and 300 nm, were collected and classified. Fifteen statistically significant classes were identified and are discussed in this paper. Nitrate, potassium, carbon, and silicon/silicon oxide were the most frequently observed ions. Nitrate was present in most of the particles, probably due to the agricultural activity in the vicinity of the sampling site. The nitrate detection frequency was found to be sensitive to the ambient temperature and relative humidity. Another particle class, identified as an amine, exhibited strong relative humidity dependence, appearing only during periods of low relative humidity. There is evidence that some of the detected particles originated from the large urban centers, and were coated with nitrate, sulfate, and organics during transport.

Organic aerosols are ubiquitous to the lower atmosphere and there is growing concern about their impact on climate and human health. These aerosols typically have multicomponent compositions that change over time in part due to oxidation by reactive trace gases, such as ozone. A current challenge to the atmospheric research community is to develop better methods of analysis of these particles. Photoelectron resonance capture ionization aerosol mass spectrometry (PERCI-AMS) is an online mass spectrometric method that has been applied to the analysis of organic aerosols. One of its key advantages is that it employs low energy (~ 0 eV) photoelectrons in the ion forming process, which has been shown to minimize fragmentation in the organic analytes, thus simplifying mass spectral interpretation. This dissertation focuses on the application of PERCI-AMS to the analysis of organic particles. Initial emphasis is placed on the heterogeneous reaction of gas phase ozone with liquid oleic acid particles. Products identified included carboxylic acids, aldehydes, and peroxides including alpha-acyloxyalkyl hydroperoxides polymers. The evidence of peroxidic products suggested the stabilization of carbonyl oxide intermediates (i.e. Criegee intermediates) that are formed during ozonolysis. Subsequent PERCI-AMS experiments investigated the reactivity of the stabilized Criegee intermediates. This included investigating the reaction of Criegee intermediates with unsaturated fatty acids and methyl esters. A novel ketone-forming reaction is described in these systems, suggesting the Criegee intermediates can react at a carbon-carbon double bond. Further PERCI-AMS experiments investigated the oxidative processing of particulate amines including octadecylamine and hexadecylamine. Ozonolysis of these amines resulted in strong NO2 - and NO3 - ion signals that increased with the ozone exposure and suggested a mechanism of progressive oxidation. Additionally, a strong ion signal was detected for NO3 -(HNO3), which is the ion core of the most important ion cluster series in the troposphere, NO3 -(HNO3)n(H2O)m. PERCI-AMS was applied to the analysis of ozonized mixed particles of amines with oleic acid or dioctyl sebacate. In the ozonolysis of the amines with oleic acid, products included imines and amides. The routes to the amides were shown to most likely arise from the reactivity of stabilized Criegee intermediates and/or secondary ozonides with the amines. There was also direct evidence of the formation of a surface barrier in the octadecylamine and oleic acid reaction system, which resulted in the retention of oleic acid at high ozone exposures. These experiments have fostered a better understanding of the analytical capacity of PERCI-AMS in assaying the reactivity of organic aerosols as well as giving a more accurate description of the heterogeneous chemistry of these challenging reaction systems. Suggestions for adaptations to PERCI-AMS and future experiments on

Thesis advisor: Paul Davidovits / Aerosol particles are an important component of the Earth-Atmosphere system because of their influence on the radiation budget both directly (through absorption and scattering) and indirectly (through cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity). The magnitude of the raditaive forcing attributed to the direct and indirect aerosol effects is highly uncertain, leading to large uncertainties in projections of global climate change. Real-time measurements of aerosol properties are a critical step toward constraining the uncertainties in current global climate modeling and understanding the influence that anthropogenic activities have on the climate. The objective of the work presented in this thesis is to gain a more complete understanding of the atmospheric transformations of aerosol particles and how such transformations influence the direct and indirect radiative effects of the particles. The work focuses on real-time measurements of aerosol particles made with the Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) developed in collaboration with the Boston College research group. A key feature of the work described is the development of a lightscattering module for the AMS. Here we present the first results obtained with the integrated light scattering – AMS system. The unique and powerful capabilities of this new instrument combination are demonstrated through laboratory experiments and field deployments. Results from two field studies are presented: (1) The Northeast Air Quality Study (NEAQS), in the summer of 2004, conducted at Chebogue Point, Nova Scotia and (2) The Megacity Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations (MILAGRO) field campaign conducted in and around Mexico City, Mexico in March of 2006. Both field studies were designed to study the transformations that occur within pollution plumes as they are transported throughout the atmosphere. During the NEAQS campaign, the pollution plume from the Northeastern United States was intercepted as it was transported towards Europe. In this study, particles were highly processed prior to sampling, with residence times of a few days in the atmosphere. The MILAGRO campaign focused on the evolution of the Mexico City plume as it was transported north. During this study, regional and locally emitted particles were measured with residence times varying from minutes to days in the atmosphere. In both studies, the light scattering – AMS system provided detailed information about the density and composition of single particles, leading to important insights into how atmospheric processing transforms the particle properties. In Mexico City, the light scattering-AMS system was used for the first time as a true single particle mass spectrometer and revealed specific details about the atmospheric processing of primary particles from combustion sources.To quantify the radiative effects of the particles on climate, the processing and ultimate fate of primary emissions (often containing black carbon or soot) must be understood. To provide a solid basis for the interpretation of the data obtained during the field studies, experiments were conducted with a well characterized soot generation-sampling system developed by the Boston College research group. The laboratory soot source was combined with the light scattering – AMS system and a Cloud Condensation Nuclei Counter (CCNC) to measure the change in cloud-forming activity of soot particles as they are processed in the atmosphere. Because of the importance of black carbon in the atmosphere, several instruments have been developed to measure black carbon. In July of 2008, an intercomparison study of 18 instruments was conducted in the Boston College laboratory, with soot particles produced and processed to mimic a wide range of atmospherically-relevant conditions. Transformations in the physical, chemical, and optical properties of soot particles were monitored with the combined suite of aerosol instrumentation. Results from the intercomparison study not only calibrated the different instruments used in the study, but also provided critical details about how atmospheric processing influences the radiative effects of primary combustion particles. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Chemistry.

The Aerosol Mass Spectroscopy (AMS) is a recently developed method that provides on-line measurements of the chemical composition, mass spectrum and mass distributions of the atmospheric aerosol. Using the AMS with a thermodenuder in smog chamber experiments of ozonolysis of α-pinene, β-pinene and limonene, the mass spectrum of the secondary organic aerosols (SOA) is deconvoluted in low, medium and high volatility mass spectra. The spectrum of the surrogate component with the lower volatility for α-pinene and β-pinene is quite similar to that of ambient oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA). This could explain part of the difference between the AMS mass spectrum in the lab and the field. Combining an AMS and a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) in smog chamber experiments of α-pinene, β-pinene and limonene ozonolysis, the density of the SOA is calculated and estimated between 1.4 and 1.65 g cm-3. This high density implies that the SOA is likely in a solid or a waxy state. The method is applied on field measurements at Finokalia, Crete during the FAME. For the summer campaign (FAME-08) the organic density is in the range of 0.8 and 1.8 g cm-3 with a mean value of 1.35±0.22 g cm-3¬, while for the winter (FAME-09) the average organic density is 1.14±0.36 g cm-3. This technique can also calculate the Collection Efficiency (CE) of the AMS, since AMS does not measure all the particles that enter the instrument. Applying the estimated CE, the AMS is in a good agreement with other instrumentation. The CE and the organic density of the thermodenuded samples are calculated as well. The CE and the organic density both for the ambient and the themodenuded samples are used as post corrections in the volatility estimation. For FAME-08 the organic aerosol is one order of magnitude less volatile than laboratory-generated α-pinene SOA. Furthermore they are highly oxidized due to the photochemistry conditions (especially in the summer) and the station location (away from detectable sources of pollution). Finally, modifying the steam-jet aerosol collector (SJAC) method both particulate and gas phase of the main inorganic species can be measured. Testing the approach at ambient conditions at the ICE-FORTH Institute, we were able to measure together with the inorganic aerosol composition the gas-phase concentrations of NH3, HONO and very low HNO¬3. The results are consistent with the predictions of the thermodynamic model ISORROPIA. / Τα αεροζόλ είναι σωματίδια που αιωρούνται στην ατμόσφαιρα. Η Φασματομετρία Μάζας Αεροζόλ (AMS) είναι μία νέα μέθοδος που μπορεί να δώσει ταυτόχρονα και σε πραγματικό χρόνο τη χημική σύσταση, το φάσμα μάζας και τις κατανομές μάζας των ατμοσφαιρικών σωματιδίων. Χρησιμοποιώντας το AMS με έναν θερμικό απογυμνωτή σε πειράματα οζονόλυσης α-πινενίου, β-πινενίου και λεμονενίου σε περιβαλλοντικό θάλαμο, το φάσμα μάζας των δευτερογενών οργανικών σωματιδίων (SOΑ) αναλύεται σε 3 επιμέρους φάσματα, ανάλογα με την πτητικότητα των οργανικών σωματιδίων. Το φάσμα που αντιστοιχεί στις ενώσεις με τη χαμηλότερη πτητικότητα για το α- και β-πινένιο είναι αρκετά όμοιο με αυτό των οξυγονωμένων οργανικών σωματιδίων (ΟΟΑ) από το περιβάλλον. Αυτό εξηγεί και μέρος της διαφοράς του φάσματος μάζας AMS μεταξύ εργαστηρίου και πεδίου. Συνδυάζοντας το AMS με ένα σαρωτή μεγέθους κινούμενων σωματιδίων (SMPS) υπολογίζεται η πυκνότητα των SOA από οζονόλυση α-πινενίου, β-πινενίου και λεμονενίου μεταξύ 1.4 και 1.65 g cm-3. Η σχετικά υψηλή τιμή της πυκνότητας μάλλον σημαίνει ότι τα παραγόμενα σωματίδια είναι στερεά ή κερώδη.Η παραπάνω μέθοδος εφαρμόζεται σε μετρήσεις πεδίου στη Φινοκαλιά, στην Κρήτη (FAME). Για το FAME-08 (καλοκαίρι) η πυκνότητα των οργανικών σωματιδίων είναι μεταξύ 0.8 και 1.8 g cm-3 με μέση τιμή 1.35±0.22 g cm-3, ενώ για το FAME-09 (χειμώνας) η μέση τιμή είναι 1.14±0.36 g cm-3. Η τεχνική αυτή υπολογίζει και το ποσοστό συλλογής (CE) σωματιδίων του AMS, καθώς το AMS μετράει ένα ποσοστό αυτών. Εφαρμόζοντας την CE που υπολογίζεται, η συμφωνία μεταξύ του AMS και άλλων οργάνων είναι αρκετά καλή. Υπολογίζεται επίσης η CE και η πυκνότητα των οργανικών για τα δείγματα που έχουν θερμανθεί στον θερμικό απογυμνωτή. Οι CE και οι οργανικές πυκνότητες χρησιμοποιούνται ως διορθώσεις για την αποφυγή υποεκτίμησης της πτητικότητας του οργανικού αεροζόλ. Για το FAME-08 οι οργανικές ενώσεις είναι περισσότερο από μία τάξη μεγέθους λιγότερο πτητικές από τα SOA που δημιουργούνται σε συνθήκες εργαστηρίου. Επίσης είναι υψηλά οξειδωμένες λόγω της φωτοχημείας (καλοκαίρι) και της τοποθεσίας της δειγματοληψίας (μακριά από πρωτογενείς ρύπους). Τέλος τροποποιώντας τη μέθοδο δειγματοληψίας υγροποιημένων σωματιδίων (SJAC) είναι δυνατό να μετρηθεί και η σωματιδιακή αλλά και η αέρια φάση των κυρίως ανόργανων ενώσεων. Πειράματα που έγιναν από δειγματοληψία στο ΕΙΧΗΜΥΘ δείχνουν την ύπαρξη ΝΗ3 αλλά σχεδόν μηδενικού ΗΝΟ3. Τα αποτελέσματα συγκρίνονται με ένα θερμοδυναμικό μοντέλο (ISΟRROPIA) και η συμφωνία είναι καλή.