Volume 251, 2024

Dynamics of collisions and uptake of alcohol molecules with hydrated nitric acid clusters

Abstract

We investigate the collisions of different alcohol molecules with hydrated nitric acid clusters using a molecular beam experiment and molecular dynamics simulations. The uptake cross sections σp for the molecules evaluated from the experiment are in excellent agreement with the simulations. This suggests that (i) the nontrivial assumptions implemented in the evaluation procedure of the experimental data are valid, and (ii) the simulations describe correctly the major processes in the molecule–cluster collisions. We observe that σp decreases with the increasing alkyl chain length of the alcohol, and also with the branching of the molecules that have the same mass but different structures. These systematic trends can be rationalized based on the accessibility of the hydrophilic OH group, which decreases with the increasing chain length and steric hindrance. The observed trends and their interpretation differ significantly from the simple model of hard-sphere collisions. The obtained data shall be beneficial not only for the fundamental understanding of the molecule–cluster collisions, but also in the modelling of atmospheric new-particle formation and aerosol growth.

Graphical abstract: Dynamics of collisions and uptake of alcohol molecules with hydrated nitric acid clusters

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 Dec 2023
Accepted
30 Jan 2024
First published
30 Jan 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Faraday Discuss., 2024,251, 296-312

Dynamics of collisions and uptake of alcohol molecules with hydrated nitric acid clusters

K. Fárníková, E. Pluhařová, A. Pysanenko, M. Fárník, Y. Yan and J. Lengyel, Faraday Discuss., 2024, 251, 296 DOI: 10.1039/D3FD00160A

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