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Oxidation of oleic acid at the air-water interface and its potential effects on cloud critical supersaturations

King, M.D., Rennie, A.R., Thompson, K.C., Fisher, F.N., Dong, C.C., Thomas, R.K., Pfrang, C. and Hughes, A.V. (2009) Oxidation of oleic acid at the air-water interface and its potential effects on cloud critical supersaturations. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 11 (35). pp. 7699-7707. ISSN 1463-9076

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To link to this item DOI: 10.1039/b906517b

Abstract/Summary

The oxidation of organic films on cloud condensation nuclei has the potential to affect climate and precipitation events. In this work we present a study of the oxidation of a monolayer of deuterated oleic acid (cis-9-octadecenoic acid) at the air-water interface by ozone to determine if oxidation removes the organic film or replaces it with a product film. A range of different aqueous sub-phases were studied. The surface excess of deuterated material was followed by neutron reflection whilst the surface pressure was followed using a Wilhelmy plate. The neutron reflection data reveal that approximately half the organic material remains at the air-water interface following the oxidation of oleic acid by ozone, thus cleavage of the double bond by ozone creates one surface active species and one species that partitions to the bulk (or gas) phase. The most probable products, produced with a yield of similar to(87 +/- 14)%, are nonanoic acid, which remains at the interface, and azelaic acid (nonanedioic acid), which dissolves into the bulk solution. We also report a surface bimolecular rate constant for the reaction between ozone and oleic acid of (7.3 +/- 0.9) x 10(-11) cm(2) molecule s(-1). The rate constant and product yield are not affected by the solution sub-phase. An uptake coefficient of ozone on the oleic acid monolayer of similar to 4 x 10(-6) is estimated from our results. A simple Kohler analysis demonstrates that the oxidation of oleic acid by ozone on an atmospheric aerosol will lower the critical supersaturation needed for cloud droplet formation. We calculate an atmospheric chemical lifetime of oleic acid of 1.3 hours, significantly longer than laboratory studies on pure oleic acid particles suggest, but more consistent with field studies reporting oleic acid present in aged atmospheric aerosol.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Chemical Analysis Facility (CAF) > Spectrometry (CAF)
Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > Department of Chemistry
ID Code:11394
Uncontrolled Keywords:HETEROGENEOUS REACTION SYSTEM, IONIZATION MASS-SPECTROMETRY, SELF-ASSEMBLED MONOLAYERS, UNSATURATED FATTY-ACIDS, GAS-PHASE OZONE, REACTIVE UPTAKE, AEROSOL-PARTICLES, ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS, TOF-SIMS, AIR/WATER INTERFACE

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