Proposed chemical mechanisms leading to secondary organic aerosol in the reactions of aliphatic amines with hydroxyl and nitrate radicals

Abstract

The presence and importance of amines in the atmosphere, including aliphatic amines, continues to gain more attention. The atmospheric reaction mechanisms of these amines with key atmospheric radicals are important to predict both daytime and nighttime atmospheric chemistry. While previous studies have focused on the production of amine salts, this analysis looks at the importance of peroxy radical reactions to the formation of secondary organic aerosol. Atmospheric oxidation mechanisms are presented to explain the observed chemistry. A series of environmental chamber experiments were conducted in which aliphatic tertiary and secondary amines were reacted with either hydroxyl radical (OH) or nitrate radical (NO3). Chemical composition of the aerosol products was obtained with a High Resolution Time of Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) and a Particle Into Liquid Sampler Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (PILS-ToF-MS), while the chemical composition of the gas-phase products was obtained with a Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometer (SIFT-MS). A number of aerosol-phase mass spectra showed highly oxidized fragments at a much higher molecular weight (MW) than the amine precursor. It is proposed that these larger compounds are oligomers formed through peroxy radical reactions with hydrogen rearrangement. Another reaction pathway observed was the formation of amine salts. The relative importance of each pathway to the overall production of aerosol is found to be dependent on the type of amine and oxidant. For example, the oligomers were observed in the tertiary methyl amines, while the formation of amine salts was more prevalent in the secondary and tertiary ethyl amines.