Reactive uptake of NO3 radicals by unsaturated fatty acid particles

Abstract

The reactive uptake of NO(3) by particles containing four unsaturated fatty acid species was studied for the first time in a flow tube reactor coupled to a chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS). Using a mixed-phase relative rates technique, the reactive uptake coefficients, γ(part), were determined to be (0.27 ± 0.06) for oleic acid (OA), (0.53 ± 0.12) for linoleic acid (LA), (0.72 ± 0.17) for linolenic acid (LNA), and (1.01 ± 0.18) for conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in N(2) bath gas. In the presence of 20% O(2), their uptake coefficients are (0.31 ± 0.09) for OA, (0.55 ± 0.12) for LA, (0.78 ± 0.17) for LNA, and (1.08 ± 0.17) for CLA. All the uncertainties are 2σ and represent precision only. The products of the NO(3) reactions with these organic particles were studied in the presence and absence of O(2) using CIMS. It was found that the detected yields and compositions of the products were substantially different with or without O(2). Based on the observed products and general gas-phase chemistry of NO(3) radicals, a reaction mechanism is proposed for NO(3) reactions with unsaturated organic particles. The atmospheric implications of the heterogeneous chemical processes involving NO(3) are also discussed.