The role of low-volatility organic compounds in initial particle growth in the atmosphere

作者：Jasmin Tröstl, Wayne K. Chuang, Hamish Gordon, Martin Heinritzi, Chao Yan, Ugo Molteni, L. Ahlm, Carla Frege, Federico Bianchi, Robert Wagner, Mario Simon, Katrianne Lehtipalo, Christina Williamson, J. S. Craven, Jonathan Duplissy, Alexey Adamov, João Almeida, Anne-Kathrin Bernhammer, Martin Breitenlechner, Sophia Brilke, António Dias, Sebastian Ehrhart, Richard C. Flagan, Alessandro Franchin, Claudia Fuchs, R. Guida, Martin Gysel‐Beer, Armin Hansel, C. R. Hoyle, Tuija Jokinen, Heikki Junninen, Juha Kangasluoma, Helmi Keskinen, Jaeseok Kim, Manuel Krapf, Andreas Kürten, Ari Laaksonen, Michael J. Lawler, Markus Leiminger, Serge Mathot, Ottmar Möhler, Tuomo Nieminen, Antti Onnela, Tuukka Petäjä, Felix Piel, Pasi Miettinen, Matti Rissanen, L. Rondo, Nina Sarnela, Siegfried Schobesberger, Kamalika Sengupta, Mikko Sipilä, James N. Smith, Gerhard Steiner, António Tomé, Annele Virtanen, Andrea C. Wagner, E. Weingartner, Daniela Wimmer, Paul M. Winkler, Penglin Ye, K. S. Carslaw, Joachim Curtius, Josef Dommen, J. Kirkby, Markku Kulmala, Ilona Riipinen, Douglas R. Worsnop, Neil M. Donahue, Urs Baltensperger · 发表于：Nature · 年份：2016 · DOI：10.1038/nature18271 · 被引用次数：956 · 研究领域：Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols、Atmospheric aerosols and clouds、Atmospheric Ozone and Climate

About half of present-day cloud condensation nuclei originate from atmospheric nucleation, frequently appearing as a burst of new particles near midday. Atmospheric observations show that the growth rate of new particles often accelerates when the diameter of the particles is between one and ten nanometres. In this critical size range, new particles are most likely to be lost by coagulation with pre-existing particles, thereby failing to form new cloud condensation nuclei that are typically 50 to 100 nanometres across. Sulfuric acid vapour is often involved in nucleation but is too scarce to explain most subsequent growth, leaving organic vapours as the most plausible alternative, at least in the planetary boundary layer. Although recent studies predict that low-volatility organic vapours contribute during initial growth, direct evidence has been lacking. The accelerating growth may result from increased photolytic production of condensable organic species in the afternoon, and the presence of a possible Kelvin (curvature) effect, which inhibits organic vapour condensation on the smallest particles (the nano-Köhler theory), has so far remained ambiguous. Here we present experiments performed in a large chamber under atmospheric conditions that investigate the role of organic vapours in the initial growth of nucleated organic particles in the absence of inorganic acids and bases such as sulfuric acid or ammonia and amines, respectively. Using data from the same set of experime...