Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

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Water and sunlight mediated processing of organic acids: relevance to organic atmospheric aerosols

Veronica Vaida, Katy Plath, Marta Maron, Meghan Dunn and Jess Axson Rex Skodje and Kaito Takahashi

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and CIRES University of Colorado, Boulder

Oxidized organic molecules (aldehydes, ketones, acids and alcohols), have a unique and complex role in regard to water uptake and aerosol formation in the atmosphere. These compounds are products in the oxidation of isoprene and found in the highly oxidized material of secondary organic aerosols (SOA). Aldehydes, and to a lesser extent ketones, are known to form alcohols in the presence of water. This transformation drastically changes the physical and chemical properties of the molecules, which impacts the partitioning between gas and particle phase as well as the chemistry of such molecules in the atmosphere. Experimental and theoretical studies of the water and sunlight mediated chemistry of pyruvic and glyoxilic acid will be presented.