Articles | Volume 25, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7619-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7619-2025
Research article
 | 
18 Jul 2025
Research article |  | 18 Jul 2025

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

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Cited articles

Aiona, P. K., Lee, H. J., Leslie, R., Lin, P., Laskin, A., Laskin, J., and Nizkorodov, S. A.: Photochemistry of products of the aqueous reaction of methylglyoxal with ammonium sulfate, ACS Earth Space Chem., 1, 522–532, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.7b00075, 2017. 
Al-Abadleh, H. A., Motaghedi, F., Mohammed, W., Rana, M. S., Malek, K. A., Rastogi, D., Asa-Awuku, A. A., and Guzman, M. I.: Reactivity of aminophenols in forming nitrogen-containing brown carbon from iron-catalyzed reactions, Commun. Chem., 5, 112, https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-022-00732-1, 2022. 
Andreae, M. O. and Gelencsér, A.: Black carbon or brown carbon? The nature of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 3131–3148, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-6-3131-2006, 2006. 
Aurell, J., Gullett, B. K., and Tabor, D.: Emissions from southeastern U.S. Grasslands and pine savannas: Comparison of aerial and ground field measurements with laboratory burns, Atmos. Environ., 111, 170–178, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.03.001, 2015. 
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Short summary
This work comprises a comprehensive investigation into the chemical and optical properties of brown carbon (BrC) in PM2.5 samples collected in Nanjing, China. In particular, we used a machine learning approach to identify a list of key BrC species, which can be a good reference for future studies. Our findings extend understanding of BrC properties and are valuable to the assessment of BrC's impact on air quality and radiative forcing.
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