One-year observation of the mixing states of oxygenated organics-containing single particles in Guangzhou, China

doi:10.1007/s11783-024-1824-3

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2024, Vol. 18

Issue (5) : 64 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-024-1824-3

One-year observation of the mixing states of oxygenated organics-containing single particles in Guangzhou, China

Liyuan Mao^1,², Suxia Yang³, Xiaoya Cheng^1,², Sulin Liu^1,², Duanying Chen^1,², Zhen Zhou^1,², Mei Li^1,², Chenglei Pei⁴(

), Chunlei Cheng^1,^2,^5,⁶(

)

¹. Institute of Mass Spectrometry and Atmospheric Environment, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for the On-line Source Apportionment System of Air Pollution, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
². Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality, Guangzhou 510632, China
³. Guangzhou Research Institute of Environment Protection Co., Ltd., Guangzhou 510620, China
⁴. Guangzhou Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510030, China
⁵. State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
⁶. State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China

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Abstract

● The OOM particles exhibited characteristics similar to those of the SOC in summer.

● The OOM particles were enriched with secondary species.

● The organics were more oxygenated in October than in January.

● Few hydrocarbon species were found in EC-OOM particles due to photochemistry.

Oxygenated organic molecules (OOMs) play an important role in the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs), but the mixing states of OOMs are still unclear. This study investigates the mixing states of OOM-containing single particles from the measurements taken using a single particle aerosol mass spectrometer in Guangzhou, China in 2022. Generally, the particle counts of OOM particles and the mass concentration of secondary organic carbon (SOC) exhibited similar temporal trends throughout the entire year. The OOM particles were consistently enriched in secondary ions, including ¹⁶O⁻, ²⁶CN⁻, ⁴⁶NO₂⁻, ⁶²NO₃⁻, and ⁹⁷HSO₄⁻. In contrast, the number fractions and diurnal patterns of OOM particles among the total detected particles showed similar distributions in August and October; however, the SOC ratios in fine particulate matter were quite different, suggesting that there were different mixing states of single-particle oxygenated organics. In addition, further classification results indicated that the OOM particles were more aged in October than August, even though the SOC ratios were higher in August. Furthermore, the distribution of hydrocarbon fragments exhibited a notable decrease from January to October, emphasizing the more aged state of the organics in October. In addition, the sharp increase in elemental carbon (EC)-OOM particles in the afternoon in October suggests the potential role of EC in the aging process of organics. Overall, in contrast to the bulk analysis of SOC mass concentration, the mixing states of the OOM particles provide insights into the formation process of SOAs in field studies.

Keywords Oxygenated organics Single particles Mixing state Secondary formation Photochemistry

Corresponding Author(s): Chenglei Pei,Chunlei Cheng

Issue Date: 12 March 2024

Cite this article:

Liyuan Mao,Suxia Yang,Xiaoya Cheng, et al. One-year observation of the mixing states of oxygenated organics-containing single particles in Guangzhou, China[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2024, 18(5): 64.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-024-1824-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2024/V18/I5/64

Fig.1 Temporal variations in the temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), PM_2.5, total particles, oxygen organics-containing (OOM) particles, and number fraction of the OOM particles in Guangzhou, China.

Fig.2 Temporal variations in the mass concentrations of the inorganic ions (SO₄²⁻ and NO₃⁻), OC, EC, and SOC and the particle count of the OOM particles in Guangzhou, China.

Fig.3 Mass spectra of the OOM particles in January, April, August, and October. The color bar represents each peak area corresponding to a specific ion in single particles.

Fig.4 Diurnal variations in the number fraction of the OOM particles and the mass concentration ratios of the SOC in January, April, August, and October.

Fig.5 Ratios of the five types of OOM particles in (a) January, (b) April, (c) August, and (d) October.

Fig.6 Mass spectra of the EC-OOM particles in January, April, August, and October.

Fig.7 Mass spectra of the OC-OOM particles in January, April, August, and October.

Fig.8 Diurnal trends of the number fractions of the EC-OOM, OC-OOM, and SEC-OOM particles in the total OOM particles in January, April, August, and October.

Fig.9 Variation trends of the number fractions of the EC-OOM, OC-OOM, and SEC-OOM particles in the total OOM particles with the increase of PM_2.5 mass concentration in January, April, August, and October.

Fig.10 Variation trends of the number fractions of the EC-OOM, OC-OOM, and SEC-OOM particles in the total OOM particles with the increase of O₃ mass concentration in January, April, August, and October.

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