Characterization of nitrated aromatic compounds in fine particles from Nanjing, China: Optical properties, source allocation, and secondary processes

Abstract

Recently, nitrated aromatic compounds (NACs) have received much attention due to their role as key chromophores of brown carbon (BrC) and their impact on human health and the climate. In this study, a method for detection of 12 NACs in the atmosphere was developed and applied to the detection of 191 atmospheric samples in the northern suburbs of Nanjing in 2017. The average concentration of total NACs in Nanjing was 26.48 ng m−3, which was lower than that in North China. The total NACs also showed obvious seasonal variation, with the highest concentration in winter (51.99 ng m−3) and the lowest concentration in summer (11.26 ng m−3). Moreover, the contribution of subcomponents of NACs also changed with the seasons. Nitrophenols (NPs) and nitrocatechols (NCs) were most abundant in winter, while nitrosalicylic acids (NSAs) were more abundant in summer, accounting for 30%, 27%, and 85%, respectively. The reason for this result may be due to the different sources of dominance of NACs in different seasons. The light absorption of NACs to water-soluble BrC was mainly concentrated in the 300–400 nm range, and its contribution reached the maximum at 310 nm. NPs and NCs had the highest contribution to BrC among all NACs in winter, with a range of 25–54% and 3–59%, respectively. The Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) was used to analyze the main sources of NACs in different seasons. Secondary generation was the largest source in summer, accounting for 43.5%, and biomass combustion contributed the most in autumn, accounting for 36.7%. NACs are affected by temperature, especially in summer, and the subcomponents vary in temperature dependence. The secondary generation process of NACs is affected by NO2 and O3, especially when NO2 is greater than 40 μg m−3 and O3 is less than 220 μg m−3.