Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from Nitrophenols Photolysis under Atmospheric Conditions

Nitrophenols are important products of the aromatic compounds photooxidation and play a considerable role in urban chemistry. Nitrophenols are important components of agricultural biomass burning that could influence the climate. The formation of secondary organic aerosol from the direct photolysis of nitrophenols was investigated for the first time in a quartz glass simulation chamber under simulated solar radiation. The results from these experiments indicate rapid SOA formation. The proposed mechanism for the gas-phase degradation of nitrophenols through photolysis shows the formation of biradicals that could react further in the presence of oxygen to form low volatile highly oxygenated compounds responsible for secondary organic aerosol formation. The inhibiting effect of NOx and the presence of an OH radical scavenger on the aerosol formation were also studied. For 2-nitrophenol, significant aerosol formation yields were observed in the absence of an OH radical scavenger and NOx, varying in the range of 18%-24%. A gas-phase/aerosol partitioning model was applied assuming the presence of only one compound in both phases. A degradation mechanism is proposed to explain the aerosol formation observed in the photolysis of nitrophenols. The atmospheric impact of nitrophenol photolysis is discussed and the importance for atmospheric chemical models is assessed.