Articles | Volume 17, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6493-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6493-2017
Research article
 | 
01 Jun 2017
Research article |  | 01 Jun 2017

Efficient bulk mass accommodation and dissociation of N2O5 in neutral aqueous aerosol

Goran Gržinić, Thorsten Bartels-Rausch, Andreas Türler, and Markus Ammann

Abstract. An isotope exchange experiment with the short-lived radioactive tracer 13N is used to trace N2O5 uptake into nitrate-containing aqueous aerosol particles. While uptake of 13N-labelled N2O5 to deliquesced Na2SO4 aerosol is consistent with previous studies, efficient exchange of labelled nitrate with the non-labelled nitrate pool was observed in the presence of aerosol-phase nitrate. The experiments provide direct evidence for efficient bulk mass accommodation of N2O5 into aqueous solution with αb > 0.4 at room temperature, as well as for the fast dissociation into nitronium and nitrate. While for experimental reasons this study is limited to non-acidic nitrate-containing aerosol, it is likely that bulk mass accommodation and dissociation are not limiting N2O5 uptake under wider ranges of conditions.

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Short summary
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) largely control the ozone budget in the troposphere globally. Dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) is an important species as a nighttime reservoir for nitrogen oxides. Loss of N2O5 to aerosol particles is therefore important for the budget of NOx and the oxidation capacity. Here we provide direct evidence for its efficient accommodation into aqueous aerosol particles and its fast dissociation, which has not been elucidated as directly in previous studies.
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