Articles | Volume 18, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10123-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10123-2018
Research article
 | 
17 Jul 2018
Research article |  | 17 Jul 2018

Particle acidity and sulfate production during severe haze events in China cannot be reliably inferred by assuming a mixture of inorganic salts

Gehui Wang, Fang Zhang, Jianfei Peng, Lian Duan, Yuemeng Ji, Wilmarie Marrero-Ortiz, Jiayuan Wang, Jianjun Li, Can Wu, Cong Cao, Yuan Wang, Jun Zheng, Jeremiah Secrest, Yixin Li, Yuying Wang, Hong Li, Na Li, and Renyi Zhang

Related authors

Enhanced emission of intermediate-volatility/semi-volatile organic matter in gas and particle phases from ship exhausts with low-sulfur fuels
Binyu Xiao, Fan Zhang, Zeyu Liu, Yan Zhang, Rui Li, Can Wu, Xinyi Wan, Yi Wang, Yubao Chen, Yong Han, Min Cui, Libo Zhang, Yingjun Chen, and Gehui Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7053–7069, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7053-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7053-2025, 2025
Short summary
Significant contributions of biomass burning to PM2.5-bound aromatic compounds: insights from field observations and quantum chemical calculations
Yanqin Ren, Zhenhai Wu, Fang Bi, Hong Li, Haijie Zhang, Junling Li, Rui Gao, Fangyun Long, Zhengyang Liu, Yuanyuan Ji, and Gehui Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6975–6990, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6975-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6975-2025, 2025
Short summary
Effects of Anthropogenic Pollutants on Biogenic Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation in the Atmosphere of Mt. Hua, China
Can Wu, Yubao Chen, Yuwei Sun, Huijun Zhang, Si Zhang, Cong Cao, Jianjun Li, and Gehui Wang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1668,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1668, 2025
Short summary
Measurement report: Simultaneous measurement on atmospheric gas- and aerosol-phase water-soluble organics in Shanghai: Remarkable increase in light absorbing of Asian dust aerosols during long-range transport
Zheng Li, Gehui Wang, Binyu Xiao, Rongjie Li, Can Wu, Shaojun Lv, Feng Wu, Qingyan Fu, and Yusen Duan
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-654,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-654, 2025
Short summary
Measurement Report: Molecular composition, sources, and evolution of atmospheric organic aerosols in a basin city in China
Junke Zhang, Xinyi Fu, Chunying Chen, Yunfei Su, Siyu Liu, Luyao Chen, Yubao Chen, Gehui Wang, and Andre S. H. Prevot
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-92,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-92, 2025
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Machine-learning-assisted chemical characterization and optical properties of atmospheric brown carbon in Nanjing, China
Yu Huang, Xingru Li, Dan Dan Huang, Ruoyuan Lei, Binhuang Zhou, Yunjiang Zhang, and Xinlei Ge
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7619–7645, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7619-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7619-2025, 2025
Short summary
Technical note: Reconstructing missing surface aerosol elemental carbon data in long-term series with ensemble learning
Qingxiao Meng, Yunjiang Zhang, Sheng Zhong, Jie Fang, Lili Tang, Yongcai Rao, Minfeng Zhou, Jian Qiu, Xiaofeng Xu, Jean-Eudes Petit, Olivier Favez, and Xinlei Ge
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7485–7498, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7485-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7485-2025, 2025
Short summary
Enhanced emission of intermediate-volatility/semi-volatile organic matter in gas and particle phases from ship exhausts with low-sulfur fuels
Binyu Xiao, Fan Zhang, Zeyu Liu, Yan Zhang, Rui Li, Can Wu, Xinyi Wan, Yi Wang, Yubao Chen, Yong Han, Min Cui, Libo Zhang, Yingjun Chen, and Gehui Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7053–7069, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7053-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7053-2025, 2025
Short summary
Measurement report: Crustal materials play an increasing role in elevating particle pH – insights from 12-year records in a typical inland city of China
Hongyu Zhang, Shenbo Wang, Zhangsen Dong, Xiao Li, and Ruiqin Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6943–6955, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6943-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6943-2025, 2025
Short summary
Significant contributions of biomass burning to PM2.5-bound aromatic compounds: insights from field observations and quantum chemical calculations
Yanqin Ren, Zhenhai Wu, Fang Bi, Hong Li, Haijie Zhang, Junling Li, Rui Gao, Fangyun Long, Zhengyang Liu, Yuanyuan Ji, and Gehui Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6975–6990, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6975-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6975-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Cheng, C., Wang, G., Zhou, B., Meng, J., Li, J., Cao, J., and Xiao, S.: Comparison of dicarboxylic acids and related compounds in aerosol samples collected in Xi'an, China during haze and clean periods, Atmos. Environ., 81, 443–449, 2013. 
Cheng, C., Wang, G., Meng, J., Wang, Q., Cao, J., Li, J., and Wang, J.: Size-resolved airborne particulate oxalic and related secondary organic aerosol species in the urban atmosphere of Chengdu, China, Atmos. Res., 161–162, 134–142, 2015. 
Cheng, Y., Zheng, G., Wei, C., Mu, Q., Bo Zheng, Wang, Z., Gao, M., Zhang, Q., He, K., Carmichae, G., Pöschl, U., and Su, H.: Reactive nitrogen chemistry in aerosol water as a source of sulfate during haze events in China, Science Advances, 2, e1601530, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1601530, 2016. 
Clegg, S. L., Qiu, C., and Zhang, R.: The deliquescence behaviour, solubilities, and densities of aqueous solutions of five methyl- and ethyl-aminium sulphate salts, Atmos. Environ., 73, 1–14, 2013. 
Clifton, C. L., Altstein, N., and Huie, R. E.: Rate constant for the reaction of nitrogen dioxide with sulfur(IV) over the pH range 5.3–13, Environ. Sci. Technol., 22, 586–589, 1988. 
Download
Short summary
Several studies using thermodynamic models estimated pH and sulfate formation rate during pollution periods in China are highly conflicting. Here we show distinct sulfate formation for organic seed particles from that of (NH4)2SO4 seeds, when the particles are exposed to SO2, NO2, and NH3 at high RH. Our results reveal that the pH value of ambient organics-dominated aerosols is sufficiently high to promote efficient SO2 oxidation by NO2 with NH3 neutralization under polluted conditions in China.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint