Articles | Volume 25, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-11505-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.The impacts of pollution sources and temperature on the light absorption of HULIS were revealed by UHPLC-HRMS/MS at the molecular structure level
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- Final revised paper (published on 29 Sep 2025)
- Supplement to the final revised paper
- Preprint (discussion started on 25 Apr 2025)
- Supplement to the preprint
Interactive discussion
Status: closed
Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor
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RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-1808', Anonymous Referee #1, 01 May 2025
- AC3: 'Reply on RC1', dapeng liang, 30 Jun 2025
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RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-1808', Anonymous Referee #2, 05 May 2025
- AC2: 'Reply on RC2', dapeng liang, 30 Jun 2025
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RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-1808', Anonymous Referee #3, 23 May 2025
- AC1: 'Reply on RC3', dapeng liang, 30 Jun 2025
Peer review completion
AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
AR by dapeng liang on behalf of the Authors (30 Jun 2025)
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ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (02 Jul 2025) by Ivan Kourtchev
RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (04 Jul 2025)

RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (04 Jul 2025)
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (14 Jul 2025) by Ivan Kourtchev

AR by dapeng liang on behalf of the Authors (14 Jul 2025)
Manuscript
This work investigated the impact of low temperature on the formation of strong BrC chromophores in HULIS and proposed two mechanisms, one is that the low temperature may lead to a non-liquid phase state of ambient particles, potentially introducing kinetic limitation on the diffusion of reactive species from gas phase into the bulk aerosol and second low temperature promoted the reaction of phenols with NOx radicals while inhibited the atmospheric oxidation of nitrophenols, thus facilitating the accumulation of BrC chromophores such as nitrophenols in HULIS. Overall, the paper was well-organized, and the results are of broad interest. I would recommend the paper be accepted after revision, as outlined below.
1 line 48-50. Please elaborate further on the assertion that HULIS is under low-temperature conditions for the majority of its atmospheric lifetime. This statement serves as a critical foundation for the research motivation and requires more evidenced or references to support it.
2 line 83-84 and Text S1. This semi-quantification strategy was based on the experiment experience that substances with similar structures and equal concentrations yield comparable signal intensities in mass spectrometry. Please specify the criteria for selecting the semi-quantification proxy compounds. Additionally, a thorough discussion on the uncertainties associated with this semi-quantification approach should be provided.
3 Move compound identification and quantification from SI to the main text and a discussion of semi-quantification errors, as suggested above, should be incorporated into the manuscript (either in the main text or the SI).
4 Section 3.2. In the discussion on the potential sources of HULIS, the authors selected two PM haze events instead of high HULIS episodes. What’s HULIS concentration during these two PM pollution events. Additionally, please include the mass spectra of HULIS samples from non-haze days for comparison with those in Event I and II. This would clarify whether the identified sources were specific to HULIS or more generally associated with PM2.5.
5 Section 3.3. The discussion of the effect of temperature on BrC chromophore formation is arguably the most important aspect of this study. As the author proposed, low temperature promoted the exothermic process (e.g., reaction of phenols with NOx radicals) and hindered the endothermic chemical reactions (e.g., atmospheric oxidation of nitrophenols), thus facilitating the accumulation of BrC chromophores in HULIS. In addition to this qualitative thermodynamic explanation, a more in-depth discussion is encouraged. Specifically, how does low temperature alter the overall atmospheric chemistry and also any comparable results/findings/ mechanistic insights from previous literature that support your conclusions.