Chamber simulation of photooxidation of dimethyl sulfide and isoprene in the presence of NO_x

Abstract. To improve the model prediction for the formation of H₂SO₄ and methanesulfonic acid (MSA), aerosol-phase reactions of gaseous dimethyl sulfide (DMS) oxidation products [e.g., dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)] in aerosol have been included in the DMS kinetic model with the recently reported gas-phase reactions and their rate constants. To determine the rate constants of aerosol-phase reactions of both DMSO and its major gaseous products [e.g., dimethyl sulfone (DMSO₂) and methanesulfinic acid (MSIA)], DMSO was photooxidized in the presence of NO_x using a 2 m³ Teflon film chamber. The rate constants tested in the DMSO kinetic mechanisms were then incorporated into the DMS photooxidation mechanism. The model simulation using the newly constructed DMS oxidation mechanims was compared to chamber data obtained from the phototoxiation of DMS in the presence of NO_x. Within 120-min simulation, the predicted concentrations of MSA increase by 200–400% and those of H₂SO₄, by 50–200% due to aerosol-phase chemistry. This was well substantiated with experimental data. To study the effect of coexisting volatile organic compounds, the photooxidation of DMS in the presence of isoprene and NO_x has been simulated using the newly constructed DMS kinetic model integrated with the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) for isoprene oxidation, and compared to chamber data. With the high concentrations of DMS (250 ppb) and isoprene (560–2248 ppb), both the model simulation and experimental data showed an increase in the yields of MSA and H₂SO₄ as the isoprene concentration increased.