Significant contributions of trimethylamine to sulfuric acid nucleation in polluted environments

Cai, Runlong; Yin, Rujing; Li, Xue; Xie, Hong-Bin; Yang, Dongsen; Kerminen, Veli-Matti; Smith, James N.; Ma, Yan; Hao, Jiming; Chen, Jingwen; Kulmala, Markku; Zheng, Jun; Jiang, Jingkun; Elm, Jonas

doi:10.1038/s41612-023-00405-3

Significant contributions of trimethylamine to sulfuric acid nucleation in polluted environments

Journal Article · Tue Jun 27 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · npj Climate and Atmospheric Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-023-00405-3· OSTI ID:1987420

; Yin, Rujing; Li, Xue; Xie, Hong-Bin; Yang, Dongsen; ; Smith, James N.; Ma, Yan; Hao, Jiming; Chen, Jingwen; ; ; ;

Abstract

As one of the least understood aerosol processes, nucleation can be a dominant source of atmospheric aerosols. Sulfuric acid (SA)-amine binary nucleation with dimethylamine (DMA) has been recognized as a governing mechanism in the polluted continental boundary layer. Here we demonstrate the importance of trimethylamine (TMA) for nucleation in the complex atmosphere and propose a molecular-level SA-DMA-TMA ternary nucleation mechanism as an improvement upon the conventional binary mechanism. Using the proposed mechanism, we could connect the gaseous amines to the SA-amine cluster signals measured in the atmosphere of urban Beijing. Results show that TMA can accelerate the SA-DMA-based new particle formation in Beijing by 50–100%. Considering the global abundance of TMA and DMA, our findings imply comparable importance of TMA and DMA to nucleation in the polluted continental boundary layer, with probably higher contributions from TMA in polluted rural environments and future urban environments with controlled DMA emissions.

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Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0021208

OSTI ID:: 1987420

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1991864

Journal Information:: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, Journal Name: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 6; ISSN 2397-3722

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

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