Laboratory chamber studies on the formation of organosulfates from reactive uptake of monoterpene oxides

Evidence from field measurements suggests that organosulfates contribute substantially to ambient secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and might dominate a considerable fraction of total sulfur in tropospheric particles. While alcohols and epoxides are suggested to be most likely precursors for organosulfates in SOA, their reactivity in acidic particles and their potential for organosulfate formation are still unclear. In the present study, a series of aerosol chamber experiments was performed to investigate the formation of organosulfates from reactive uptake of monoterpene oxides (α-pinene oxide and β-pinene oxide) and acid catalysed isomerisation compounds of α-pinene oxide (campholenic aldehyde and carveol) on neutral and acidic sulfate particles. Organosulfate formation was observed only under acidic conditions for both monoterpene oxides and, to a lesser extent, campholenic aldehyde, indicating that epoxides most likely serve as precursors for some of the organosulfates reported from both ambient and laboratory SOA samples. Structures of organosulfates were elucidated by comparing the tandem mass spectrometric, accurate mass and ion mobility data obtained for both the synthesised reference compounds and aerosol chamber-generated organosulfates. In the experiment performed using β-pinene oxide and acidic sulfate seed particles, an organosulfate with a sulfate group at a tertiary carbon atom accounts for 64% of the detected organosulfates. In contrast, an organosulfate with a sulfate group at a secondary carbon atom accounts for 80% of the detected organosulfates in the sample from α-pinene oxide/acidic sulfate particle experiment. The concentration of β-pinene-derived organosulfates was higher than known α-pinene oxidation products such as pinic acid and pinonic acid in an ambient aerosol sample collected at a Norwegian spruce forest site during the summer time, ranging up to 23 ng m⁻³.

Furthermore, α-pinene oxide is found to isomerise readily on the wet seed particle surface, forming campholenic aldehyde. It is likely that other epoxides also play an important role for the formation of organosulfates under atmospheric conditions, and the isomerisation of epoxides may be an important route for the formation of some SOA constituents whose structures do not resemble precursor volatile organic compounds (VOCs).