Articles | Volume 25, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-13019-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-13019-2025
Research article
 | 
20 Oct 2025
Research article |  | 20 Oct 2025

Surface–bulk photochemical coupling of nonanoic acid and 4-benzoylbenzoic acid: the dual role of the photosensitizer and environmental influences

Ahmed Abdelmonem, Dana Glikman, Yiwei Gong, Björn Braunschweig, Harald Saathoff, Johannes Lützenkirchen, and Mohammed H. Fawey

Related authors

Atmospheric Simulation Chambers in the ACTRIS Research Infrastructure
Hendrik Fuchs, Niklas Illmann, Amalia Muñoz, Mila Ródenas, Bénédicte Picquet-Varrault, M. Rami Alfarra, Cecilia Arsene, Iustinian G. Bejan, David M. Bell, Merete Bilde, Alexander Böhmländer, Mixtli Campos-Pineda, Mathieu Cazaunau, Patrice Coll, Véronique Daële, Claudia Di Biagio, Michael Flynn, Paola Formenti, Hartmut Herrmann, Kristina Höhler, Thorsten Hohaus, Matthew S. Johnson, Eija Juurola, Niku Kivekäs, Jan Kaiser, Christos Kaltsonoudis, Paolo Laj, Dario Massabò, Federico Mazzei, Gordon McFiggans, Max R. McGillen, Abdelwahid Mellouki, Peter Mettke, Ottmar Möhler, Falk Mothes, Dennis Niedermeier, Anna Novelli, Romeo I. Olariu, Spyros N. Pandis, Iulia Patroescu-Klotz, Rosa Maria Petracca Altieri, Paolo Prati, Claudiu Roman, Albert A. Ruth, Harald Saathoff, Silvio Schmalfuß, Frank Stratmann, Virginia Vernocchi, Aristeidis Voliotis, Jens Voigtländer, Annele Virtanen, Andreas Wahner, Robert Wagner, John Wenger, Sören Zorn, Peter Wiesen, and Jean-Francois Doussin
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1612,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1612, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
Short summary
Measurements of NaCl in ambient air with a Capture Vaporizer-ToF-ACSM
Marije van den Born, Hengjia J. Ou, Jan Mulder, Jinglan Fu, Harald Saathof, and Ulrike Dusek
Aerosol Research Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2026-8,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2026-8, 2026
Preprint under review for AR
Short summary
Chromophores and chemical compositions of brown carbon aerosol before and after photooxidation of combustion emissions
Feng Jiang, Jun Zhang, David Bell, Kun Li, Nadine Borduas-Dedekind, Andre S. H. Prevot, Hongbiao Cui, Harald Saathoff, and Thomas Leisner
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-559,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-559, 2026
Short summary
Investigation of Saharan dust plumes in Western Europe by remote Sensing, in situ measurements, and transport modelling
Hengheng Zhang, Gholam Ali Hoshyaripour, Heike Vogel, Frank Wagner, Thomas Leisner, Jochen Förstner, and Harald Saathoff
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5980,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5980, 2026
Short summary
Influence of Tropospheric Temperature on the Formation and Aging of Secondary Organic Aerosol from Biogenic Vapor Mixtures
Linyu Gao, Stella E. I. Manavi, Claudia Mohr, Junwei Song, Cheng Wu, Thomas Leisner, Spyros N. Pandis, and Harald Saathoff
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-270,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-270, 2026
Short summary

Cited articles

Alpert, P. A., Ciuraru, R., Rossignol, S., Passananti, M., Tinel, L., Perrier, S., Dupart, Y., Steimer, S. S., Ammann, M., Donaldson, D. J., and George, C.: Fatty Acid Surfactant Photochemistry Results in New Particle Formation, Sci. Rep.-UK, 7, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12601-2, 2017. 
Atkinson, R.: Atmospheric chemistry of VOCs and NOx, Atmos. Environ., 34, 2063–2101, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(99)00460-4, 2000. 
Backus, E. H. G., Bonn, D., Cantin, S., Roke, S., and Bonn, M.: Laser-Heating-Induced Displacement of Surfactants on the Water Surface, J. Phys. Chem. B, 116, 2703–2712, https://doi.org/10.1021/jp2074545, 2012. 
Badban, S., Hyde, A. E., and Phan, C. M.: Hydrophilicity of Nonanoic Acid and Its Conjugate Base at the Air/Water Interface, ACS Omega, 2, 5565–5573, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.7b00960, 2017. 
Bernard, F., Ciuraru, R., Boréave, A., and George, C.: Photosensitized Formation of Secondary Organic Aerosols above the Air/Water Interface, Environ. Sci. Technol., 50, 8678–8686, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b03520, 2016. 
Download
Short summary
This study examines how environmental factors (sunlight, pH, salinity, and surface chemistry) affect air–water interface reactions. Using a surface-specific technique, sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, we found that compounds like 4-benzoylbenzoic acid (4-BBA) not only act as photosensitizers but also generate new surface-active products under UV light. These reactions have implications for oceans, lakes, and clouds, providing crucial insights for modeling natural processes.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint