Important Oxidants and Their Impact on the Environmental Effects of Aerosols

Abstract

Oxidants are central species in the atmosphere, where they not only determine secondary particle formation but also impact human health and climate change. In general, they are unstable, highly reactive, and recyclable and have been studied in field observations, laboratory studies, and model simulations. The most widely investigated oxidants, such as OH radicals, O3, and Cl atom, HONO, NO3, N2O5, and Criegee Intermediates (CIs) have attracted more attention recently. Furthermore, secondary particles formed in the oxidations processes impact the particle physicochemical properties, such as hygroscopicity and optical properties and therefore impact the atmospheric radiation balance. Therefore, the newest investigation results of important oxidants (HONO, NO3, N2O5, and CIs) are reviewed in this manuscript, and the environmental effects of secondary particles formed through corresponding oxidation processes are also stated. Furthermore, some perspectives are further discussed in the article.