Articles | Volume 26, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-8311-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-8311-2026
Research article
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15 Jun 2026
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 15 Jun 2026

On describing particle nucleation within the Volatility Basis Set

Neil M. Donahue, Lubna Dada, Dominik Stolzenburg, Eva Sommer, Mario Simon, Meredith Schervish, Jenna DeVivo, Alexandra Stinchfield, Natalie Burton, Nirvan Bhattacharyya, Brandon Lopez, Mingyi Wang, Wiebke Scholz, João Almeida, Bin Zhao, Martin Heinritzi, Hamish Gordon, Armin Hansel, Joachim Curtius, Katrianne Lehtipalo, Imad El Haddad, Jasper Kirkby, Richard Flagan, Markku Kulmala, and Douglas Worsnop

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Cited articles

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Editorial statement
The Volatility Basis Set (VBS) has become one of the main tools used in atmospheric science for interpreting and modeling the partitioning of gases associated with organic aerosols. In this article the authors extend the VBS to nucleation, showing that it is possible to predict particle formation rates over the full range of tropospheric temperatures, with good agreement with extensive chamber measurements. The tool provides a means to understand the chemical and physical factors affecting nucleation across a wide range of environments over the industrial period and into the future.
Short summary
A new theory has the potential to accurately describe changes to atmospheric particle formation from the pre-industrial to the present and onwards along socioeconomic pathways addressing air pollution and climate. The model places organic nucleation in the context of the Volatility Basis Set and reveals a competition between chemistry, which accelerates as temperature rises, and vapor pressure, which drops as temperature decreases. The model reproduces observations from the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) chamber.
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