Issue 1, 2023

Organic acid formation in the gas-phase ozonolysis of α,β-unsaturated ketones

Abstract

Organic acids are key species in determining the radiative properties of the atmosphere due to their contribution to particle formation. Reported discrepancies between field measurements and modelling suggest significant missing sources. Herein, we present a mechanistic investigation on the gas-phase ozonolysis of ethyl vinyl ketone (EVK, 1-penten-3-one), which we chose as a model compound for α,β-unsaturated ketones. Experiments were performed in a 1080 L quartz-glass reaction chamber (QUAREC) at 990 ± 15 mbar and 298 ± 2 K (r. h. ≪ 0.1%) and analysed via long-path FTIR spectrometry and PTR-ToF-MS. The experiments were performed in the presence of an excess of CO to suppress the chemistry of OH radicals. For a comprehensive picture, in selected experiments, SO2 was also added to the reaction system to scavenge the stabilized Criegee intermediates (sCIs) and to investigate their formation yield. Combining the results of both set-ups allowed us to quantify 2-oxobutanal, for which we report vapour-phase FTIR spectra. In addition, we introduce the first-ever infrared spectra of perpropionic acid, which was also positively identified in the EVK + O3 system. A detailed analysis of the experimental findings allowed us to link the identified reaction products (acetaldehyde, ethyl hydroperoxide, and perpropionic acid) to known bimolecular reactions of RO2 radicals. Thereby, it is shown that the EVK + O3 reaction yields formic acid, HC(O)OH, and propionic acid, C2H5C(O)OH, and their formation is not covered by mechanisms reported in the literature. Three different pathways accounting for their formation from chemically activated CIs are proposed and possible implications for the ozonolysis of α,β-unsaturated ketones in the atmosphere are discussed.

Graphical abstract: Organic acid formation in the gas-phase ozonolysis of α,β-unsaturated ketones

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Jul 2022
Accepted
11 Nov 2022
First published
07 Dec 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023,25, 106-116

Organic acid formation in the gas-phase ozonolysis of α,β-unsaturated ketones

N. Illmann, I. Patroescu-Klotz and P. Wiesen, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023, 25, 106 DOI: 10.1039/D2CP03210D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements