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The substitution of ammonia by dimethylamine in sulfuric acid – ammonia – dimethylamine clusters was studied using a collision and evaporation dynamics model. Quantum chemical formation free energies were computed using B3LYP/CBSB7 for geometries and frequencies and RI-CC2/aug-cc-pV(T+d)Z for electronic energies. We first demonstrate the good performance of our method by a comparison with an experimental study investigating base substitution in positively charged clusters, and then continue by simulating base exchange in neutral clusters, which cannot be measured directly. Collisions of a dimethylamine molecule with an ammonia containing positively charged cluster result in the instantaneous evaporation of an ammonia molecule, while the dimethylamine molecule remains in the cluster. According to our simulations, a similar base exchange can take place in neutral clusters, although the overall process is more complicated. Neutral sulfuric acid – ammonia clusters are significantly less stable than their positively charged counterparts, resulting in a competition between cluster evaporation and base exchange.

Sulfuric acid clusters stabilized by base molecules are likely to have a significant role in atmospheric new-particle formation. Recent advances in mass spectrometry techniques have permitted the detection of electrically charged clusters. However, direct measurement of electrically neutral clusters is not possible. Mass spectrometry instruments can be combined with a charger, but the possible effect of charging on the composition of neutral clusters must be addressed in order to interpret and understand the measured data. In the present work we have used formation free energies from quantum chemical methods to calculate the evaporation rates of electrically charged (both positive and negative) sulfuric acid–ammonia/dimethylamine clusters. To understand how charging will affect the composition of electrically neutral clusters, we have compared the evaporation rates of the most stable neutral clusters with those of the corresponding charged clusters. Based on the evaporation rates of different molecules from the charged clusters, we determined the most likely resulting cluster composition when a stable neutral cluster is charged and the molecules with the highest evaporation rates are lost from it. We found that all of the most stable neutral clusters will be altered by both positive and negative charging. In the case of charging clusters negatively, base molecules will completely evaporate from clusters with 1 to 3 sulfuric acid molecules in the case of ammonia, and from clusters with 1 or 2 sulfuric acid molecules in the case of dimethylamine. Larger clusters will maintain some base molecules, but the H2SO4 : base ratio will increase. In the case of positive charging, some of the acid molecules will evaporate, decreasing the H2SO4 : base ratio.

It has recently been demonstrated that the O2SO3− ion forms in the atmosphere as a natural consequence of ionizing radiation. Here, we present a density functional theory-based study of the reactions of O2SO3− with O3. The most important reactions are (a) oxidation to O2SO3− and (b) cluster decomposition into SO3, O2 and O3−. The former reaction is highly exothermic, and the nascent O2SO3− will rapidly decompose into SO4− and O2. If the origin of O2SO3− is SO2 oxidation by O3−, the latter reaction closes a catalytic cycle wherein SO2 is oxidized to SO3. The relative rate between the two major sinks for O2SO3− is assessed, thereby providing a measure of the maximum turnover number of ion-catalysed SO2 oxidation, i.e. how many SO2 can be oxidized per free electron. The rate ratio between reactions (a) and (b) is significantly altered by the presence or absence of a single water molecule, but reaction (b) is in general much more probable. Although we are unable to assess the overall importance of this cycle in the real atmosphere due to the unknown influence of CO2 and NOx, we roughly estimate that ion-induced catalysis may contribute with several percent of H2SO4 levels in typical CO2-free and low NOx reaction chambers, e.g. the CLOUD chamber at CERN.

It has been postulated that secondary organic particulate matter plays a pivotal role in the early growth of newly formed particles in forest areas. The recently detected class of extremely low volatile organic compounds (ELVOC) provides the missing organic vapors and possibly contributes a significant fraction to atmospheric SOA (secondary organic aerosol). The sequential rearrangement of peroxy radicals and subsequent O2 addition results in ELVOC which are highly oxidized multifunctional molecules (HOM). Key for efficiency of such HOM in early particle growth is that their formation is induced by one attack of the oxidant (here O3), followed by an autoxidation process involving molecular oxygen. Similar mechanisms were recently observed and predicted by quantum mechanical calculations e.g., for isoprene. To assess the atmospheric importance and therewith the potential generality, it is crucial to understand the formation pathway of HOM. To elucidate the formation path of HOM as well as necessary and sufficient structural prerequisites of their formation we studied homologous series of cycloalkenes in comparison to two monoterpenes. We were able to directly observe highly oxidized multifunctional peroxy radicals with 8 or 10 O atoms by an Atmospheric Pressure interface High Resolution Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (APi-TOF-MS) equipped with a NO3−-chemical ionization (CI) source. In the case of O3 acting as an oxidant, the starting peroxy radical is formed on the so-called vinylhydroperoxide path. HOM peroxy radicals and their termination reactions with other peroxy radicals, including dimerization, allowed for analyzing the observed mass spectra and narrowing down the likely formation path. As consequence, we propose that HOM are multifunctional percarboxylic acids, with carbonyl, hydroperoxy, or hydroxy groups arising from the termination steps. We figured that aldehyde groups facilitate the initial rearrangement steps. In simple molecules like cycloalkenes, autoxidation was limited to both terminal C atoms and two further C atoms in the respective α positions. In more complex molecules containing tertiary H atoms or small, constrained rings, even higher oxidation degrees were possible, either by simple H shift of the tertiary H atom or by initialization of complex ring-opening reactions.

The Atmospheric Cluster Dynamics Code (ACDC) is presented and explored. This program was created to study the first steps of atmospheric new particle formation by examining the formation of molecular clusters from atmospherically relevant molecules. The program models the cluster kinetics by explicit solution of the birth–death equations, using an efficient computer script for their generation and the MATLAB ode15s routine for their solution. Through the use of evaporation rate coefficients derived from formation free energies calculated by quantum chemical methods for clusters containing dimethylamine or ammonia and sulphuric acid, we have explored the effect of changing various parameters at atmospherically relevant monomer concentrations. We have included in our model clusters with 0–4 base molecules and 0–4 sulfuric acid molecules for which we have commensurable quantum chemical data. The tests demonstrate that large effects can be seen for even small changes in different parameters, due to the non-linearity of the system. In particular, changing the temperature had a significant impact on the steady-state concentrations of all clusters, while the boundary effects (allowing clusters to grow to sizes beyond the largest cluster that the code keeps track of, or forbidding such processes), coagulation sink terms, non-monomer collisions, sticking probabilities and monomer concentrations did not show as large effects under the conditions studied. Removal of coagulation sink terms prevented the system from reaching the steady state when all the initial cluster concentrations were set to the default value of 1 m−3, which is probably an effect caused by studying only relatively small cluster sizes.

The optimized structures and proton affinities of a total of 81 nitrogen-containing bases, chosen based on field measurements of ambient positive ions, were studied using the CBS-QB3 quantum chemical method. The results were compared to values given in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Chemistry WebBook in cases where a value was listed. The computed values show good agreement with the values listed in NIST. Grouping the molecules based on their molecular formula, the largest calculated proton affinities for each group were also compared with experimentally observed ambient cation concentrations in a boreal forest. This comparison allows us to draw qualitative conclusions about the relative ambient concentrations of different nitrogen-containing organic base molecules.

Atmospheric new particle formation is an important source of atmospheric aerosols. Large efforts have been made during the past few years to identify which molecules are behind this phenomenon, but the actual birth mechanism of the particles is not yet well known. Quantum chemical calculations have proven to be a powerful tool to gain new insights into the very first steps of particle formation. In the present study we use formation free energies calculated by quantum chemical methods to estimate the evaporation rates of species from sulfuric acid clusters containing ammonia or dimethylamine. We have found that dimethylamine forms much more stable clusters with sulphuric acid than ammonia does. On the other hand, the existence of a very deep local minimum for clusters with two sulfuric acid molecules and two dimethylamine molecules hinders their growth to larger clusters. These results indicate that other compounds may be needed to make clusters grow to larger sizes (containing more than three sulfuric acid molecules).

We have studied the hydration of sulfuric acid – ammonia and sulfuric acid – dimethylamine clusters using quantum chemistry. We calculated the formation energies and thermodynamics for clusters of one ammonia or one dimethylamine molecule together with 1–2 sulfuric acid and 0–5 water molecules. The results indicate that dimethylamine enhances the addition of sulfuric acid to the clusters much more efficiently than ammonia when the number of water molecules in the cluster is either zero, or greater than two. Further hydrate distribution calculations reveal that practically all dimethylamine-containing two-acid clusters will remain unhydrated in tropospherically relevant circumstances, thus strongly suggesting that dimethylamine assists atmospheric sulfuric acid nucleation much more effectively than ammonia.

Atmospheric observations from a boreal forest region, laboratory experiments and theoretical considerations are combined, and another compound is identified that has a significant capacity to oxidize sulphur dioxide and potentially other trace gases. Unknown 'extra' atmospheric oxidizing agent Ozone, the hydroxyl radical and nitrate are thought to be the main agents that act to remove trace gases, including pollutants, from the atmosphere. In this paper, the authors combine atmospheric observations from a forested region of Finland, laboratory experiments and theoretical considerations to identify another, previously unknown compound with significant capacity to oxidize sulphur dioxide and perhaps other trace gases. The compound seems to be a stabilized Criegee intermediate — a carbonyl oxide with two free-radical sites — or its derivative and could potentially enhance the reactivity of the atmosphere, contributing to the production of sulphuric acid and, consequently, atmospheric-aerosol formation. The chemistry investigated here is tightly connected with the presence of biogenic volatile organic compounds, and thereby with forest emissions. Atmospheric oxidation is a key phenomenon that connects atmospheric chemistry with globally challenging environmental issues, such as climate change 1 , stratospheric ozone loss 2 , acidification of soils and water 3 , and health effects of air quality 4 . Ozone, the hydroxyl radical and the nitrate radical are generally considered to be the dominant oxidants that initiate the removal of trace gases, including pollutants, from the atmosphere. Here we present atmospheric observations from a boreal forest region in Finland, supported by laboratory experiments and theoretical considerations, that allow us to identify another compound, probably a stabilized Criegee intermediate (a carbonyl oxide with two free-radical sites) or its derivative, which has a significant capacity to oxidize sulphur dioxide and potentially other trace gases. This compound probably enhances the reactivity of the atmosphere, particularly with regard to the production of sulphuric acid, and consequently atmospheric aerosol formation. Our findings suggest that this new atmospherically relevant oxidation route is important relative to oxidation by the hydroxyl radical, at least at moderate concentrations of that radical. We also find that the oxidation chemistry of this compound seems to be tightly linked to the presence of alkenes of biogenic origin.

An ab initio study of gaseous clusters of O2- and O3- with water is presented. Based on thorough scans of configurational space, we determine the thermodynamics of cluster growth. The results are in good agreement with benchmark computational methods and existing experimental data. We find that anionic O2- (H2 O)n and O3- (H2 O)n clusters are thermally stabilized at typical atmospheric conditions for at least n = 5. The first 4 water molecules are strongly bound to the anion due to delocalization of the excess charge while stabilization of more than 4 H2 O is due to normal hydrogen bonding. Although clustering up to 12 H2 O, we find that the O2 and O3 anions retain at least ca. 80 % of the charge and are located at the surface of the cluster. The O2- and O3- speicies are thus accessible for further reactions. We consider the distributions of cluster sizes as function of altitude before finally, the thermodynamics of a few relevant cluster reactions are considered.