Research on Formation and Aging of Secondary Organic Aerosol Based on Simulation Methods

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is a major component of aerosols in the atmosphere, which plays a crucial role in climate change, regional pollution and human health. Laboratory simulations are usually used to mimic SOA formation. The most commonly used simulation facilities are environmental chambers and potential aerosol mass (PAM) reactors. Here in this work, we review the studies about influencing factors and mechanisms of SOA formation, as well as the evolution of SOA aging. We summarize the influencing factors on SOA yields, i.e. OH exposure, NOx level, and the loading and chemical composition of seed particles. The effects of NOx level (i.e. VOCs/NOx) and OH exposure are nonmonotonic. The NOx level influences the fate of RO2 radicals, so SOA yields will increase and then decrease with the addition of NOx. Similarly, the increase of OH exposure affects the major oxidation mechanism from functionalization to fragmentation, leading to the up and down trend of SOA yields. The higher seed particle loading provides more surface area for condensable products and then increases the SOA yields. The particle acidity favors the uptake process for gas-phase products and promote the SOA formation via further reactions in the condense phase. Trace components e.g. transition metals and minerals can be involved in the SOA formation and aging by catalysis or affecting the uptake of oxidants and their products. Chambers and PAM reactors are usually used to explore SOA formation potential of different sources. SOA formation potential from vehicles will be influenced by engine types, engine loading and composition of fuel. The highest SOA enhancement ratio (SOA/POA) from gasoline engines is about 4 similar to 14, when the equivalent photochemical days are 2 similar to 3 d. The SOA production mass from gasoline vehicles is from about 10 similar to 40 to 400 similar to 500 mg/kg fuel. The SOA formation potential is about 400-500 mg/kg fuel. The largest SOA enhancement ratio for biomass burning is 1.4 similar to 7.6, which occurs at 3 similar to 4 photochemical days. The SOA enhancement ratio from ambient air differs from region to region. However, the highest ratios all occur at the photochemical age of about 2 similar to 4 d. We summarize the SOA characteristics evolution with aging. Oxidation state of particles will increase with OH exposure. Changes of H/C and O/C with increasing OH exposure can be plotted in the Van Krevelen diagrams. The slopes of fitted curve range from -1 to 0, indicating OA evolution chemistry involving addition of carboxylic acids or addition of alcohols/peroxides. In addition, the volatility and hygroscopicity of oxidized OA will be higher than primary organic aerosols. In the future, more studies should be focused on developing new technologies to measuring the oxidized intermediate products at a molecular level. Also the researches on the mechanism of SOA formation from complex precursors are also crucial to understand the SOA formation at real atmosphere.