Characterization of Water-Soluble Organic Compounds in Atmospheric Aerosols
Summary
Water-soluble organic compounds in atmospheric aerosols encompass a broad spectrum of molecules ranging from small organic acids to high-molecular-weight humic-like substances. These constituents play a pivotal role in aerosol hygroscopicity, cloud condensation nuclei activity and light absorption, and they influence both air quality and climate forcing. Characterisation typically involves isolation of the water-soluble fraction by techniques such as solid-phase extraction or particle-into-liquid sampling, followed by spectroscopic, chromatographic and mass-spectrometric analyses to determine molecular composition, functional group distribution and size-resolved mass. Source apportionment studies reveal that primary emissions—from biomass and fossil fuel combustion, for example—and secondary formation via gas-phase oxidation and aqueous‐phase reactions both contribute substantially to the water-soluble organic load. Seasonal and geographical variations reflect differences in precursor emissions, atmospheric processing and meteorology. Advances in high-resolution instrumentation and source-oriented modelling now allow quantitative separation of primary and secondary contributions, facilitating improved predictive capability for aerosol–climate interactions and informing mitigation strategies for urban and regional air pollution.
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Characterization of Water-Soluble Organic Compounds in Atmospheric Aerosols publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in characterization of water-soluble organic compounds in atmospheric aerosols across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC): The fraction of aerosol organic carbon that dissolves in water, encompassing low-molecular-weight acids, sugars and oligomers.
Humic-like substances (HULIS): A complex mixture of macromolecular, water-soluble organic compounds in aerosols exhibiting similarities to terrestrial and aquatic humic matter.
Secondary organic aerosol (SOA): Particles formed in the atmosphere through oxidation of volatile organic precursors, often yielding water-soluble products.
Particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS): An online sampling device that transfers aerosol particles into a liquid stream for real-time analysis of soluble constituents.
Positive matrix factorization (PMF): A receptor modelling technique that deconvolutes mixed aerosol chemical data into underlying source profiles and contributions.
References
- Quantifying primary and secondary humic-like substances in urban aerosol based on emission source characterization and a source-oriented air quality model. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (2019).
- Diurnal Variability in Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation over the Indo-Gangetic Plain during Winter Using Online Measurement of Water-Soluble Organic Carbon. Aerosol and Air Quality Research (2015).
- Size-resolved aerosol composition at an urban and a rural site in the Po Valley in summertime: implications for secondary aerosol formation. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (2016).
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