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Atmosphere
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The Roles of Condensed Water in Indoor and Outdoor Air...
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The Roles of Condensed Water in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 7193

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ran Zhao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Science - Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Interests: cloudwater chemistry; biomass burning; indoor air quality
Prof. Dr. Jianhuai Ye

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Interests: atmospheric chemistry; aerosol chemistry and physics; air pollution; atmospheric sensors; UAV-based atmospheric chemical sensing; volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds
Prof. Dr. Theodora Nah

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Interests: aerosol chemistry, air-sea interaction, organic pollutant lifecycles, biogeochemical cycles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Liquid water is ubiquitous in the atmosphere, in the forms of cloud, fog, aerosol water, and water droplets/films on environmental surfaces. Liquid water plays a convoluted role in atmospheric chemistry, air quality, and regional and global climate.

This special issue of Atmosphere is dedicated to “condensed water and air quality”. Elucidating chemical reaction mechanisms occurring in atmospheric aqueous phases (e.g., cloud and fog water) is an active research area. The air-water interface provides a unique chemical environment for surface-active chemical species. Aerosol liquid water represents another yet poorly understood reaction medium, affecting the formation and physicochemical properties (e.g., viscosity, acidity, and chemical reactivity) of atmospheric particulate matter and contributing to degraded air quality in polluted regions. In addition, partitioning between the gas and condensed phases is a determinant factor for the behavior and fate of air pollutants. The presence of aqueous films on environmental surfaces actively modulates the partitioning and uptake of gaseous organic and inorganic species. More recently, multi-phase chemistry taken place in indoor surfaces is gaining increasing attention. Gas partitioning behavior and sequential chemical processes are observed to be significantly different on indoor aqueous films compared to outdoors owing to factors such as building characteristics and surface material properties.

This special issue aims to showcase discoveries on the roles of condensed water in atmospheric chemistry in indoor and outdoor environments. Article submission based on field observations, laboratory experiments, and modeling studies is all welcome. While any relevant contributions are welcome, we particularly seek contributions on the following topics:

  • Behavior and fate of air pollutants at the air-water interface.
  • Chemical processes affecting the cloud condensation nuclei activity of aerosol.
  • Partitioning and uptake of gas-phase species to atmospheric aqueous phases.
  • Impacts of condensed water on the physicochemical properties of atmospheric aerosol.
  • Aqueous-phase processing for the formation of atmospheric secondary aerosol.
  • Impacts of condensed water on indoor air quality.

Prof. Dr. Ran Zhao
Prof. Dr. Jianhuai Ye
Prof. Dr. Theodora Nah
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cloud and fog water
  • aerosol liquid water
  • aqueous-phase chemistry
  • photochemistry
  • air-water partitioning
  • air-water interface
  • cloud condensation nuclei
  • indoor air

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 1310 KiB  
Article
Temperature-Dependent Viscosity of Organic Materials Characterized by Atomic Force Microscope
by Yiming Qin, Jianhuai Ye, Paul Ohno, Theodora Nah and Scot T. Martin
Atmosphere 2021, 12(11), 1476; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12111476 - 08 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1977
Abstract
The viscosity of atmospheric aerosol particles determines the equilibrium timescale at which a molecule diffuses into and out of particles, influencing processes such as gas–particle partitioning, light scattering, and cloud formation that can affect air quality and climate. This particle viscosity is sensitive [...] Read more.
The viscosity of atmospheric aerosol particles determines the equilibrium timescale at which a molecule diffuses into and out of particles, influencing processes such as gas–particle partitioning, light scattering, and cloud formation that can affect air quality and climate. This particle viscosity is sensitive to environmental conditions such as relative humidity and temperature. Current experimental techniques mainly characterize aerosol viscosity at room temperature. The influence of temperature on the viscosity of organic aerosol remains underexplored. Herein, the viscosity of atmospherically relevant organic materials was examined at a range of temperatures from 15 °C to 95 °C using an atomic force microscope (AFM) equipped with a temperature-controlled sample module. Dioctyl phthalate and sucrose were selected for investigation. Dioctyl phthalate served as the proxy for atmospherically relevant primary organic materials while sucrose served as the proxy for secondary organic materials. The resonant frequency responses of the AFM cantilever within dioctyl phthalate and sucrose were recorded. The link between the resonant frequency and material viscosity was established via a hydrodynamic function. Results obtained from this study were consistent with previously reported viscosities, thus demonstrating the critical capability of AFM in temperature-dependent viscosity measurements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Roles of Condensed Water in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality)
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17 pages, 1941 KiB  
Article
Fine Aerosol Acidity and Water during Summer in the Eastern North Atlantic
by Theodora Nah, Junwei Yang, Jian Wang, Amy P. Sullivan and Rodney J. Weber
Atmosphere 2021, 12(8), 1040; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12081040 - 13 Aug 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2047
Abstract
Aerosol pH governs many important atmospheric processes that occur in the marine boundary layer, including regulating halogen and sulfur chemistries, and nutrient fertilization of surface ocean waters. In this study, we investigated the acidity of PM1 over the eastern North Atlantic during [...] Read more.
Aerosol pH governs many important atmospheric processes that occur in the marine boundary layer, including regulating halogen and sulfur chemistries, and nutrient fertilization of surface ocean waters. In this study, we investigated the acidity of PM1 over the eastern North Atlantic during the Aerosol and Cloud Experiments in Eastern North Atlantic (ACE-ENA) aircraft campaign. The ISORROPIA-II thermodynamic model was used to predict PM1 pH and water. We first investigated the sensitivities of PM1 pH and water predictions to gas-phase NH3 and HNO3 concentrations. Our sensitivity analysis indicated that even though NH3 and HNO3 were present at very low concentrations in the eastern North Atlantic during the campaign, PM1 pH calculations can still be sensitive to NH3 concentrations. Specifically, NH3 was needed to constrain the pH of populations of PM1 that had low mass concentrations of NH4+ and non-volatile cations (NVCs). We next assumed that gas-phase NH3 and HNO3 concentrations during the campaign were 0.15 and 0.09 µg m−3, respectively, based on previous measurements conducted in the eastern North Atlantic. Using the assumption that PM1 were internally mixed (i.e., bulk PM1), we determined that PM1 pH ranged from 0.3–8.6, with a mean pH of 5.0 ± 2.3. The pH depended on both Hair+ and Wi. Hair+ was controlled primarily by the NVCs/SO42− molar ratio, while Wi was controlled by the SO42− mass concentration and RH. Changes in pH with altitude were driven primarily by changes in SO42−. Since aerosols in marine atmospheres are rarely internally mixed, the scenario where non-sea salt species and sea-salt species were present in two separate aerosol modes in the PM1 (i.e., completely externally mixed) was also considered. Smaller pH values were predicted for the aerosol mode comprised only of non-sea salt species compared to the bulk PM1 (difference of around 1 unit on average). This was due to the exclusion of sea-salt species (especially hygroscopic alkaline NVCs) in this aerosol mode, which led to increases in Hair+ values and decreases in Wi values. This result demonstrated that assumptions of aerosol mixing states can impact aerosol pH predictions substantially, which will have important implications for evaluating the nature and magnitude of pH-dependent atmospheric processes that occur in the marine boundary layer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Roles of Condensed Water in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality)
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18 pages, 6018 KiB  
Article
Chemical Characteristics and Sources of Water-Soluble Organic Nitrogen Species in PM2.5 in Nanjing, China
by Yue Liu, Haiwei Li, Shijie Cui, Dongyang Nie, Yanfang Chen and Xinlei Ge
Atmosphere 2021, 12(5), 574; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12050574 - 28 Apr 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2482
Abstract
Water-soluble organic nitrogen (WSON) is an important component of PM2.5 which may affect air quality, climate and human health. Herein, one-year field samples of atmospheric PM2.5 (June 2017–May 2018) were collected in northern Nanjing. Chemical characterization of PM2.5 major components [...] Read more.
Water-soluble organic nitrogen (WSON) is an important component of PM2.5 which may affect air quality, climate and human health. Herein, one-year field samples of atmospheric PM2.5 (June 2017–May 2018) were collected in northern Nanjing. Chemical characterization of PM2.5 major components as well as WSON were conducted, and WSON composition and sources were further investigated via measurements by a Aerodyne soot particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SP-AMS) as well as positive matrix factorization (PMF). Inorganic ions, mainly consisting of ammonium, sulfate, and nitrate, were found to dominate PM2.5 mass (58.7%), followed by organic matter (OM) (22.6%), and elemental carbon (EC) (2.1%). Water-soluble OM dominated OM (65.1%), and its temporal variation was closely correlated with that of secondary organic matter, while time series of water-insoluble OM concentrations correlated tightly with that of primary organic matter. Average WSON concentration was 2.15 μg/m3, which was highest in winter and lowest in summer. Correlation analysis of WSON with PM2.5 components also indicated that WSON was mainly from secondary sources. SP-AMS revealed that WSON mass spectrum was composed of CxHyNp+ (91.2%) and CxHyOzNp+ (8.8%), indicating dominance of amines and other oxygenated ON compounds. PMF analysis resolved two primary sources (traffic, biomass burning) and two secondary sources (less-oxidized and more-oxidized factors) of WSOM and WSON, and the secondary source dominated both WSOM and WSON. Contribution of the more-oxidized ON factor was very high in winter, and the less-oxidized factor was significant in summer, indicating a likely important role of aqueous-phase processing in winter as well as photochemical oxidation in summer to WSON. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Roles of Condensed Water in Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality)
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