The Characteristics, Sources, and Health Risks of Volatile Organic Compounds in an Industrial Area of Nanjing.

This study investigates the chemical complexity and toxicity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from national petrochemical industrial parks and their effects on air quality in an industrial area of Nanjing, China. Field measurements were conducted from 1 December 2022, to 17 April 2023, focusing on VOC concentrations and speciations, diurnal variations, ozone formation potential (OFP), source identification, and associated health risks. The results revealed an average total VOC (TVOC) concentration of 15.

Characteristics of Nocturnal Boundary Layer over a Subtropical Forest: Implications for the Dispersion and Fate of Atmospheric Species.

The nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) significantly influences the dispersion and fate of atmospheric species at night. Subtropical forests are crucial in carbon and water exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere. However, the NBL characteristics and their impact on atmospheric species over these forests remain unknown.

Predominance of aminated water interfaces on transition-metal nanoparticulate to enhance synergetic removal of carbonyls and inhibition of CO production.

In the context of the air quality co-benefits of carbon neutrality, conventional strategies for the end-of-pipe control aimed at reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to carbon dioxide (CO) require a more realistic revision. This study explored the synergetic removal of carbonyls with low carbon emission by amine-functionalized manganese dioxide (MnO), obtained through a method involving freezing-thawing cycles. Molecular-level characterization revealed that an ordered array of interfacial water dimers (HO, a class of water-proton clusters) on the MnO surface enhanced the robust bonding of metal sites with amino groups.

Toxic effects of trace metal(loid) mixtures on aquatic organisms.

The co-occurrence of metal (loid)s in realistic aquatic environments necessitates the evaluation of their combined effects. However, the generality of the additive effect hypothesis is contentious, particularly due to metal(loid)-metal(loid) interactions. The absence of systematic evaluation approaches restricts our ability to draw overall conclusions and make reliable predictions.

Direct ink writing 3D printing of low-dimensional nanomaterials for micro-supercapacitors.

Micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) have attracted significant attention for potential applications in miniaturized electronics due to their high power density, rapid charge/discharge rates, and extended lifespan. Despite the unique properties of low-dimensional nanomaterials, which hold tremendous potential for revolutionary applications, effectively integrating these attributes into MSCs presents several challenges. 3D printing is rapidly emerging as a key player in the fabrication of advanced energy storage devices.

Anthropogenic-driven changes in concentrations and sources of winter volatile organic compounds in an urban environment in the Yangtze River Delta of China between 2013 and 2021.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) serve as crucial precursors to surface ozone and secondary organic aerosols (SOA). In response to severe air pollution challenges, China has implemented key air quality control policies from 2013 to 2021. Despite these efforts, a comprehensive understanding of the chemical composition and sources of urban atmospheric VOCs and their responses to emission reduction measures remains limited.

Anchored Cobalt Nanoparticles on Layered Perovskites for Rapid Peroxymonosulfate Activation in Antibiotic Degradation.

In the Fenton-like reaction, revealing the dynamic evolution of the active sites is crucial to achieve the activity improvement and stability of the catalyst. This study reports a perovskite oxide in which atomic (Co) in situ embedded exsolution occurs during the high-temperature phase transition. This unique anchoring strategy significantly improves the Co/Co cycling efficiency at the interface and inhibits metal leaching during peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation.

Recent Advances in Iridium-based Electrocatalysts for Acidic Electrolyte Oxidation.

Ongoing research to develop advanced electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is needed to address demand for efficient energy conversion and carbon-free energy sources. In the OER process, acidic electrolytes have higher proton concentration and faster response than alkaline ones, but their harsh strongly acidic environment requires catalysts with greater corrosion and oxidation resistance. At present, iridium oxide (IrO) with its strong stability and excellent catalytic performance is the catalyst of choice for the anode side of commercial PEM electrolysis cells.

[Characteristics of Light Absorption, Sources, and Seasonal Variation of Atmospheric Brown Carbon in Northern Nanjing].

Brown carbon (BrC) refers to a group of organic compounds in fine atmospheric particles (PM) that are able to absorb light in the ultraviolet and visible range. They have a significant impact on the visibility of air and on the earth's climate. In this study, we used a black carbon analyzer (Model AE33) to conduct field measurements in northern suburban Nanjing from March 2021 to February 2022.

Computational and experimental assessment of health risks of fine particulate matter in Nanjing and Yangzhou, China.

Fine particulate matter (PM) is a major air pollutant in most cities of China, and poses great health risks to local residents. In this study, the health effects of PM in Nanjing and Yangzhou were compared using computational and experimental methods. The global exposure mortality model (GEMM), including the results of a cohort study in China, was used to estimate the disease-related risks.

Accelerated deprotonation with a hydroxy-silicon alkali solid for rechargeable zinc-air batteries.

Transition metal oxides are promising electrocatalysts for zinc-air batteries, yet surface reconstruction caused by the adsorbate evolution mechanism, which induces zinc-ion battery behavior in the oxygen evolution reaction, leads to poor cycling performance. In this study, we propose a lattice oxygen mechanism involving proton acceptors to overcome the poor performance of the battery in the OER process. We introduce a stable solid base, hydroxy BaCaSiO, onto the surfaces of PrBaCaCoO perovskite nanofibers with a one-step exsolution strategy.

Machine Learning Explains Long-Term Trend and Health Risk of Air Pollution during 2015-2022 in a Coastal City in Eastern China.

Exposure to air pollution is one of the greatest environmental risks for human health. Air pollution level is significantly driven by anthropogenic emissions and meteorological conditions. To protect people from air pollutants, China has implemented clean air actions to reduce anthropogenic emissions, which has led to rapid improvement in air quality over China.

Recent Progress in Atmospheric Chemistry Research in China: Establishing a Theoretical Framework for the "Air Pollution Complex".

Atmospheric 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.

Nonagricultural emissions enhance dimethylamine and modulate urban atmospheric nucleation.

Gas-phase dimethylamine (DMA) has recently been identified as one of the most important vapors to initiate new particle formation (NPF), even in China's polluted atmosphere. Nevertheless, there remains a fundamental need for understanding the atmospheric life cycle of DMA, particularly in urban areas. Here we pioneered large-scale mobile observations of the DMA concentrations within cities and across two pan-region transects of north-to-south (∼700 km) and west-to-east (∼2000 km) in China.

Machine learning assesses drivers of PM air pollution trend in the Tibetan Plateau from 2015 to 2022.

The Tibetan Plateau (known as the Earth's Third Pole) has significant impact on climate. Fine particulate matter (PM) is an important air pollutant in this region and has significant impact on health and climate. To mitigate PM air pollution over China, a series of clean air actions has been implemented.

Concurrent dominant pathways of multifunctional products formed from nocturnal isoprene oxidation.

Determination of dominant chemical pathways toward the formation of nocturnal secondary organic aerosols (SOA) remains ambiguous by which nitrogen oxides (NO) always affect oxidation of volatile alkenes. Here, comprehensive chamber simulations on dark isoprene ozonolysis were conducted under different nitrogen dioxides (NO) mixing ratios to exam multiple functionalized isoprene oxidation products. Aside from that the oxidation processes were concurrently driven by nitrogen radical (NO) and small hydroxyl radicals (OH), ozone (O) cycloaddition at isoprene was launched initially regardless of NO to rapidly form first-generation oxidation products, i.

Chemical Characteristics and Source-Specific Health Risks of the Volatile Organic Compounds in Urban Nanjing, China.

This work comprehensively investigated the constituents, sources, and associated health risks of ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sampled during the autumn of 2020 in urban Nanjing, a megacity in the densely populated Yangtze River Delta region in China. The total VOC (TVOC, sum of 108 species) concentration was determined to be 29.04 ± 14.

The interplays among meteorology, source, and chemistry in high particulate matter pollution episodes in urban Shanghai, China.

High particulate matter (PM) pollution episodes still occur occasionally in urban China, despite of improvements in recent years. Investigating the influencing factors of high-PM episodes is beneficial in the formulation of effective control measures. We herein present the effects of weather condition, emission source, and chemical conversion on the occurrence of high-PM episodes in urban Shanghai using multiple online measurements.

Disentangling drivers of air pollutant and health risk changes during the COVID-19 lockdown in China.

The COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 have led to distinct variations in NO and O concentrations in China. Here, the different drivers of anthropogenic emission changes, including the effects of the Chinese New Year (CNY), China's 2018-2020 Clean Air Plan (CAP), and the COVID-19 lockdown and their impact on NO and O are isolated by using a combined model-measurement approach. In addition, the contribution of prevailing meteorological conditions to the concentration changes was evaluated by applying a machine-learning method.

Spatial and temporal characteristics of air pollutants and their health effects in China during 2019-2020.

This work presents the temporal and spatial characteristics of the major air pollutants and their associated health risks in China from 2019 to 2020, by using the monitoring data from 367 cities. The annual average PM, PM, NO, SO, CO, and O concentrations decreased by 10.9%, 13.

Characteristics, formation, and sources of PM in 2020 in Suzhou, Yangtze River Delta, China.

Here we present seasonal chemical characteristics, formations, sources of PM in the year 2020 in Suzhou, Yangtze River Delta, China. Expectedly, organic matter (OM) found to be the most dominant component of PM, with a year-average value of 10.3 ± 5.

Sources and processes of organic aerosol in non-refractory PM and PM during foggy and haze episodes in an urban environment of the Yangtze River Delta, China.

Organic aerosol (OA) generally accounts for a large fraction of fine particulate matter (PM) in the urban atmosphere. Despite significant advances in the understanding their emission sources, transformation processes and optical properties in the submicron aerosol fraction (PM), larger size fractions - e.g.

Chemical composition, sources and optical properties of nitrated aromatic compounds in fine particulate matter during winter foggy days in Nanjing, China.

Functionalized aromatic compounds are one of the most important light-absorbing organic chromophores - so-called brown carbon (BrC) - in fine particulate matter (PM). In this study, we conducted a wintertime field campaign to measure eight nitrated aromatic compounds (NACs) in PM with offline analysis techniques, including liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LC-MS) and aerodyne high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements, during foggy and nonfoggy days in suburban Nanjing in the Yangtze River Delta region, China. On average, 4-nitrophenol could be one of the most important light absorbing materials in the observed BrC, which accounted for over 40% of the mass concentration of identified chromophores.

[Characteristics and Sources of Nitrated Phenols in Atmospheric Fine Particles of Northern Suburban Nanjing].

Nitrated phenols are a group of nitrogen-containing organics ubiquitously present in ambient air, which are also important components of atmospheric light-absorbing organic matter (brown carbon) that have significant impacts on climate change, air quality, and human health. In this study, we collected a total of 265 daily filter samples of fine particles (PM) in northern suburban Nanjing from March 2019 to January 2020. We used ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) to detect and quantify eight nitrated phenolic species.