Articles | Volume 23, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14813-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14813-2023
Research article
 | 
01 Dec 2023
Research article |  | 01 Dec 2023

Photochemical ageing of aerosols contributes significantly to the production of atmospheric formic acid

Yifan Jiang, Men Xia, Zhe Wang, Penggang Zheng, Yi Chen, and Tao Wang

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Short summary
This study provides the first estimate of high rates of formic acid (HCOOH) production from the photochemical aging of real ambient particles and demonstrates the potential importance of this pathway in the formation of HCOOH under ambient conditions. Incorporating this pathway significantly improved the performance of a widely used chemical model. Our solution irradiation experiments demonstrated the importance of nitrate photolysis in HCOOH production via the production of oxidants.
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