Viscosity controls humidity dependence of N₂O₅ uptake to citric acid aerosol

Abstract

Abstract. The heterogeneous loss of dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) to aerosol particles has a significant impact on the night time nitrogen oxide cycle and therefore the oxidative capacity in the troposphere. Using a 13N short lived radioactive tracer method we studied the uptake kinetics of N2O5 on citric acid aerosol particles as a function of relative humidity (RH). The results show that citric acid exhibits lower reactivity than similar di- and polycarboxylic acids, with uptake coefficients between ~ 3 × 10−4–~ 3 × 10−3 depending on humidity (17–70 % RH). This humidity dependence can be explained by a changing viscosity and, hence, diffusivity in the organic matrix. Since the viscosity of highly concentrated citric acid solutions is not well established, we present four different parameterizations of N2O5 diffusivity based on the available literature data or estimates for viscosity and diffusivity. Above 50 % RH, uptake is consistent with the reacto-diffusive kinetic regime whereas below 50 % RH, the uptake coefficient is higher than expected from hydrolysis of N2O5 within the bulk of the particles, and the uptake kinetics may be limited by loss on the surface only. This study demonstrates the impact of viscosity in highly oxidized and highly functionalized secondary organic aerosol material on the heterogeneous chemistry of N2O5 and may explain some of the unexpectedly low loss rates to aerosol derived from field studies.