Supported Pt catalysts are often subjected to severe deactivation under the conditions of high temperature and water vapor in catalytic oxidation; thus, the superior stability and water-resistant ability of catalysts have great significance for the effective degradation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Herein, we constructed a Pt/CeO-N catalyst with an active interfacial perimeter, in which Pt species were partially embedded in the defective CeO-N support to prevent the sintering. A significant charge transfer between Pt species and ceria in the embedding structure occurred via the Pt-CeO interface, which induced the formation of a Pt-O-Ce interfacial structure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnsaturated alcohols are a class of Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emitted in large quantities by plants when damaged or under adverse environmental conditions, and studies on their atmospheric degradation at night are still lacking. We used chamber experiments to study the gas-phase reactions of three unsaturated alcohols, E-2-penten-1-ol, Z-2-hexen-1-ol and Z-3-hepten-1-ol, with NO radicals (NO•) during the night. The rate constants of these reactions were (11.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotooxidation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are widely observed in atmospheric particulate matter (PM), largely determines their atmospheric fate. In the environment, PAHs are highly complex in chemical composition, and a great variety of PAHs tend to co-occur. Despite extensive investigation on the photochemical behavior of individual PAH molecules, the photochemical interaction among these coexisting PAHs is still not well understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is growing interest in the contribution of ultrafine particles to air quality, climate, and human health. Ultrafine particles are of central significance for the influence of radiative forcing of climate change by involving in the formation of clouds and precipitation. Moreover, exposure to ultrafine particles can enhance the disease burden.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Colloid Interface Sci
December 2024
Oxygen vacancy engineering in transition metal oxides is an effective strategy for improving catalytic performance. Herein, defect-enriched MnO catalysts were constructed by controlling the calcination temperature. The high content of oxygen vacancies and accompanying Mn ions were generated in MnO catalysts calcined at low temperature, which could greatly improve the low-temperature reducibility and migration of surface oxygen species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
March 2024
Sulfate aerosol is one of the major components of secondary fine particulate matter in urban haze that has crucial impacts on the social economy and public health. Among the atmospheric sulfate sources, Mn(II)-catalyzed SO oxidation on aerosol surfaces has been regarded as a dominating one. In this work, we measured the reaction kinetics of Mn(II)-catalyzed SO oxidation in single droplets using an aerosol optical tweezer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlkyl-PAHs (APAHs) have been identified worldwide, which could rapidly react with chlorine and OH radicals in the atmosphere. In this study, a comprehensive investigation is conducted for SOA generated by a representative alkyl-naphthalene (1-methyl naphthalene, 1-MN) initiated by Cl, including yield, chemical composition, and volatility of SOA. To better understand 1-MN atmospheric oxidation, reaction mechanisms of 1MN with Cl atoms and OH radicals are proposed and compared under different nitrogen oxides (NO) conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring the COVID-19 lockdown in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region in China, large decrease in nitrogen oxides (NO) emissions, especially in the transportation sector, could not avoid the occurrence of heavy PM pollution where nitrate dominated the PM mass increase. To experimentally reveal the effect of NO control on the formation of PM secondary components (nitrate in particular), photochemical simulation experiments of mixed volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under various NO concentrations with smog chamber were performed. The proportions of gaseous precursors in the control experiment were comparable to ambient conditions typically observed in the BTH region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Environ Sci (China)
January 2024
Branched alkanes are ubiquitous in the troposphere and play an important role in the chemical processes. In this work, the rate constants and products for the reaction of Cl atoms with 3-methylhexane and 2-methylheptane were measured at room temperature (298 ± 0.2 K) and atmospheric pressure using a conventional relative rate method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) is a typical secondary photochemical product in the atmospheric environment with significant adverse effects on human health and plant growth. In this study, PAN and other pollutants, as well as meteorological conditions were observed intensively from August to September in 2022 at a typical urban sampling site in Beijing, China. The mean and maximum PAN concentrations during the observation period were 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
December 2023
Nitrous acid (HONO) is an established precursor of hydroxyl (OH) radical and has significant impacts on the formation of PM and O. Despite extensive research on HONO observation in recent years, knowledge regarding its sources and sinks in urban areas remains inadequate. In this study, we monitored the atmospheric concentrations of HONO and related pollutants, including gaseous nitric acid and particulate nitrate, simultaneously at a supersite in downtown Chengdu, a megacity in southwestern China during spring, when was chosen due to its tolerance for both PM and O pollution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtmospheric chemistry research has been growing rapidly in China in the last 25 years since the concept of the "air pollution complex" was first proposed by Professor Xiaoyan TANG in 1997. For papers published in 2021 on air pollution (only papers included in the Web of Science Core Collection database were considered), more than 24 000 papers were authored or co-authored by scientists working in China. In this paper, we review a limited number of representative and significant studies on atmospheric chemistry in China in the last few years, including studies on (1) sources and emission inventories, (2) atmospheric chemical processes, (3) interactions of air pollution with meteorology, weather and climate, (4) interactions between the biosphere and atmosphere, and (5) data assimilation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSecondary air pollutants, originating from gaseous pollutants and primary particulate matter emitted by natural sources and human activities, undergo complex atmospheric chemical reactions and multiphase processes. Secondary gaseous pollutants represented by ozone and secondary particulate matter, including sulfates, nitrates, ammonium salts, and secondary organic aerosols, are formed in the atmosphere, affecting air quality and human health. This paper summarizes the formation pathways and mechanisms of important atmospheric secondary pollutants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtmospheric nanoparticles are crucial components contributing to fine particulate matter (PM), and therefore have significant effects on visibility, climate, and human health. Due to the unique role of atmospheric nanoparticles during the evolution process from gas-phase molecules to larger particles, a number of sophisticated experimental techniques have been developed and employed for online monitoring and characterization of the physical and chemical properties of atmospheric nanoparticles, helping us to better understand the formation and growth of new particles. In this paper, we firstly review these state-of-the-art techniques for investigating the formation and growth of atmospheric nanoparticles (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe atmospheric chemistry of nitrous acid (HONO) has received extensive attention because of its significant contribution to hydroxyl (OH) radicals. Heterogeneous reaction of NO is an important HONO source, and its reaction mechanism is affected by many factors, such as concentration of gaseous NO, surface adsorbed water, relative humidity and temperature. Although laboratory studies have confirmed the effect of temperature on heterogeneous reaction of NO, there are few field observations reporting about it.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtmospheric oxidizing capacity (AOC) is the fundamental driving factors of chemistry process (e.g., the formation of ozone (O) and secondary organic aerosols (SOA)) in the troposphere.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrganosulfates (OSs) are well-known and ubiquitous constituents of atmospheric aerosol particles and have been used as secondary organic aerosol markers in many field studies. Hence, it is imperative to understand the formation of OS species in the atmosphere. Recently, hydroxy acids (HAs) and hydroxy acid sulfates have been extensively detected in the atmospheric environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere winter haze events in Beijing and North China Plain are characterized by rapid production of sulfate aerosols with unresolved mechanisms. Oxidation of SO by O in the absence of metal catalysts (uncatalyzed autoxidation) represents the most ubiquitous SO conversion pathway in the atmosphere. However, this reaction has long been regarded as too slow to be atmospherically meaningful.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Technol
June 2022
There is a large gap between the simulated and observed sulfate concentrations during winter haze events in North China. Although multiphase sulfate formation mechanisms have been proposed, they have not been evaluated using chemical transport models. In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) was used to apportion sulfate formation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe field observation of 54 non-methane hydrocarbon compounds (NMHCs) was conducted from September 1 to October 20 in 2020 during autumn in Haidian District, Beijing. The mean concentration of total NMHCs was 29.81 ± 11.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew particle formation (NPF) is the primary source of nanoparticles and contributes a large number of concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei. In recent years, field campaigns and laboratory experiments have been conducted to promote cognition of the mechanism for NPF and its following growth processes. The chemical composition measurement of nanoparticles could help deepen understanding of the initial step of particulate matter formation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs a representative species of intermediate volatile organic compounds (IVOCs), long-chain alkanes are considered to be important precursors of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in the atmosphere. This work reviews the previous studies on long-chain alkanes in the atmosphere: (1) the detection methods and filed observations of long-chain alkanes in both gas and particle phases are summarized briefly; (2) the laboratory studies of long chain alkanes are reviewed, the kinetic data, reaction mechanism, SOA yields, and physicochemical properties of SOA are included in detail; (3) the research progress related to model simulations of long-chain alkanes are also discussed. In addition, based on available research results, several perspective contents are proposed that can be used as a guideline for future research plans.
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