Thermodynamic properties of multifunctional oxygenates in atmospheric aerosols from quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics: Dicarboxylic acids

Ambient particulate matter contains polar multifunctional oxygenates that partition between the vapor and aerosol phases. Vapor pressure predictions are required to determine the gas-particle partitioning of such organic compounds. We present here a method based on atomistic simulations combined with the Clausius-Clapeyron equation to predict the liquid vapor pressure, enthalpies of vaporization, and heats of sublimation of atmospheric organic compounds. The resulting temperature-dependent vapor pressure equation is a function of the heat of vaporization at the normal boiling point [DeltaH(vap)(T-b)], normal boiling point (T-b), and the change in heat capacity (liquid to gas) of the compound upon phase change [DeltaC(p)(T-b)]. We show that heats of vaporization can be estimated from calculated cohesive energy densities (CED) of the pure compound obtained from multiple sampling molecular dynamics. The simulation method (CED) uses a generic force field (Dreiding) and molecular models with atomic charges determined from quantum mechanics. The heats of vaporization of five dicarboxylic acids [malonic (C-3) succinic (C-4), glutaric (C-5), adipic (C-6), and pimelic (C-7)] are calculated at 500 K. Results are in agreement with experimental values with an averaged error of about 4%. The corresponding heats of sublimation at 298 K are also predicted using molecular simulations. Vapor pressures of the five dicarboxylic acids are also predicted using the derived Clausius-Clapeyron equation. Predicted liquid vapor pressures agree well with available literature data with an averaged error of 29%, while the predicted solid vapor pressures at ambient temperature differ considerably from a recent study by Bilde et al. (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2003, 37, 1371-1378) (an average of 70%). The difference is attributed to the linear dependence assumption that we used in the derived Clausius-Clapeyron equation.