Browsing by Author "Dommen, Josef"
Now showing 1 - 20 of 37
Results per page
Sort options
- PublicationA compact and portable deposition chamber to study nanoparticles in air-exposed tissue(Mary Ann Liebert, 2013) Mertes, Peter; Praplan, Arnaud P.; Künzi, Lisa; Dommen, Josef; Baltensperger, Urs; Geiser, Marianne; Weingartner, Ernest; Ricka, Jaroslav; Fierz, Martin; Kalberer, Markus [in: Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery]01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationA mobile pollutant measurement laboratory - measuring gas phase and aerosol ambient concentrations with high spatial and temporal resolution(Elsevier, 12/2002) Bukowiecki, Nicolas; Dommen, Josef; Prévôt, André S.H.; Richter, Rene; Weingartner, Ernest; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Atmospheric Environment]A mobile pollutant measurement laboratory was designed and built at the Paul Scherrer Institute (Switzerland) for the measurement of on-road ambient concentrations of a large set of trace gases and aerosol parameters with high time resolution (<15 s for most instruments), along with geographical and meteorological information. This approach allowed for pollutant level measurements both near traffic (e.g. in urban areas or on freeways/main roads) and at rural locations far away from traffic, within short periods of time and at different times of day and year. Such measurements were performed on a regular base during the project year of gas phase and aerosol measurements (YOGAM). This paper presents data measured in the Zürich (Switzerland) area on a late autumn day (6 November) in 2001. The local urban particle background easily reached 50 000 cmˉ³, with additional peak particle number concentrations of up to 400 000 cmˉ³. The regional background of the total particle number concentration was not found to significantly correlate with the distance to traffic and anthropogenic emissions of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. On the other hand, this correlation was significant for the number concentration of particles in the size range 50–150 nm, indicating that the particle number concentration in this size range is a better traffic indicator than the total number concentration. Particle number size distribution measurements showed that daytime urban ambient air is dominated by high number concentrations of ultrafine particles (nanoparticles) with diameters < 50 nm, which are immediately formed by traffic exhaust and thus belong to the primary emissions. However, significant variation of the nanoparticle mode was also observed in number size distributions measured in rural areas both at daytime and nighttime, suggesting that nanoparticles are not exclusively formed by primary traffic emissions. While urban daytime total number concentrations were increased by a factor of 10 compared to the nighttime background, corresponding factors for total surface area and total volume concentrations were 2 and 1.5, respectively.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationA new method to discriminate secondary organic aerosols from different sources using high-resolution aerosol mass spectra(Copernicus, 2012) Heringa, Maarten F.; DeCarlo, Peter F.; Chirico, Roberto; Tritscher, Torsten; Clairotte, Michael; Mohr, Christine; Crippa, Monica; Slowik, Jay Gates; Pfaffenberger, Lisa; Dommen, Josef; Weingartner, Ernest; Prévôt, André S.H.; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]Abstract. Organic aerosol (OA) represents a significant and often major fraction of the non-refractory PM1 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter da < 1 μm) mass. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is an important contributor to the OA and can be formed from biogenic and anthropogenic precursors. Here we present results from the characterization of SOA produced from the emissions of three different anthropogenic sources. SOA from a log wood burner, a Euro 2 diesel car and a two-stroke Euro 2 scooter were characterized with an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-TOF-AMS) and compared to SOA from α-pinene. The emissions were sampled from the chimney/tailpipe by a heated inlet system and filtered before injection into a smog chamber. The gas phase emissions were irradiated by xenon arc lamps to initiate photo-chemistry which led to nucleation and subsequent particle growth by SOA production. Duplicate experiments were performed for each SOA type, with the averaged organic mass spectra showing Pearson's r values >0.94 for the correlations between the four different SOA types after five hours of aging. High-resolution mass spectra (HR-MS) showed that the dominant peaks in the MS, m/z 43 and 44, are dominated by the oxygenated ions C2H3O+ and CO2+, respectively, similarly to the relatively fresh semi-volatile oxygenated OA (SV-OOA) observed in the ambient aerosol. The atomic O:C ratios were found to be in the range of 0.25–0.55 with no major increase during the first five hours of aging. On average, the diesel SOA showed the lowest O:C ratio followed by SOA from wood burning, α-pinene and the scooter emissions. Grouping the fragment ions revealed that the SOA source with the highest O:C ratio had the largest fraction of small ions. The HR data of the four sources could be clustered and separated using principal component analysis (PCA). The model showed a significant separation of the four SOA types and clustering of the duplicate experiments on the first two principal components (PCs), which explained 79% of the total variance. Projection of ambient SV-OOA spectra resolved by positive matrix factorization (PMF) showed that this approach could be useful to identify large contributions of the tested SOA sources to SV-OOA. The first results from this study indicate that the SV-OOA in Barcelona is strongly influenced by diesel emissions in winter while in summer at SIRTA at the southwestern edge of Paris SV-OOA is more similar to alpha-pinene SOA. However, contributions to the ambient SV-OOA from SOA sources that are not covered by the model can cause major interference and therefore future expansions of the PCA model with additional SOA sources is recommended.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationAerosol nucleation and growth in a mixture of sulfuric acid/alpha-pinene oxidation products at the CERN CLOUD chamber(AIP Publishing, 2013) Tröstl, Jasmin; Bianchi, Federico; Kürten, Andreas; Rondo, Linda; Simon, Mario; Sarnela, Nina; Jokinen, Tuija; Heinritzi, Martin; Dommen, Josef; Kirkby, Jasper; Weingartner, Ernest; Baltensperger, Urs; DeMott, Paul J.; O'Dowd, Colin D. [in: Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols. 19th International Conference]The role of α-pinene in aerosol nucleation and growth was investigated using the CERN CLOUD chamber, a nano scanning mobility particle sizer (nanoSMPS) and several condensation particle counters (CPCs) with different diameter cut-offs. Different oxidation conditions for α-pinene - OH⋅ vs. ozone oxidation - were considered to investigate their contributions to particle nucleation and growth. Results from the latest CERN experiment from fall 2012 (CLOUD 7) are presented.04B - Beitrag Konferenzschrift
- PublicationAging induced changes on NEXAFS fingerprints in individual combustion particles(Copernicus, 24.11.2011) Zelenay, Veronika; Mooser, René; Tritscher, Torsten; Křepelová, Adela; Heringa, Maarten F.; Chirico, Roberto; Prévôt, André SH.; Weingartner, Ernest; Baltensperger, Urs; Dommen, Josef; Watts, B.; Raabe, Jörg; Huthwelker, Thomas; Ammann, Markus [in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]Abstract. Soot particles can significantly influence the Earth's climate by absorbing and scattering solar radiation as well as by acting as cloud condensation nuclei. However, despite their environmental (as well as economic and political) importance, the way these properties are affected by atmospheric processing of the combustion exhaust gases is still a subject of discussion. In this work, individual soot particles emitted from two different vehicles, a EURO 2 transporter, a EURO 3 passenger car, and a wood stove were investigated on a single-particle basis. The emitted exhaust, including the particulate and the gas phase, was processed in a smog chamber with artificial solar radiation. Single particle specimens of both unprocessed and aged soot were characterized using near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) and scanning electron microscopy. Comparison of NEXAFS spectra from the unprocessed particles and those resulting from exhaust photooxidation in the chamber revealed changes in the carbon functional group content. For the wood stove emissions, these changes were minor, related to the relatively mild oxidation conditions. For the EURO 2 transporter emissions, the most apparent change was that of carboxylic carbon from oxidized organic compounds condensing on the primary soot particles. For the EURO 3 car emissions oxidation of primary soot particles upon photochemical aging has likely contributed as well. Overall, the changes in the NEXAFS fingerprints were in qualitative agreement with data from an aerosol mass spectrometer. Furthermore, by taking full advantage of our in situ microreactor concept, we show that the soot particles from all three combustion sources changed their ability to take up water under humid conditions upon photochemical aging of the exhaust. Due to the selectivity and sensitivity of the NEXAFS technique for the water mass, also small amounts of water taken up into the internal voids of agglomerated particles could be detected. Because such small amounts of water uptake do not lead to measurable changes in particle diameter, it may remain beyond the limits of volume growth measurements, especially for larger agglomerated particles.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationAnalysis of the hygroscopic and volatile properties of ammonium sulphate seeded and unseeded SOA particles(Copernicus, 28.01.2009) Meyer, Nic K.; Duplissy, Jonathan; Gysel, Martin; Metzger, Axel; Dommen, Josef; Weingartner, Ernest; Alfarra, Rami; Prévôt, André S.H.; Fletcher, C; Good, Nicholas; McFiggans, Gordan; Jonsson, Åsa M.; Hallquist, Mattias; Baltensperger, Urs; Ristovski, Zoran D. [in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]The volatile and hygroscopic properties of ammonium sulphate seeded and unseeded secondary organic aerosol (SOA) derived from the photo-oxidation of atmospherically relevant concentrations of α-pinene were studied. The seed particles were electrospray generated ammonium sulphate ((NH4)2SO4) having diameters of approximately 33 nm with a quasi-mono-disperse size distribution (geometric standard deviation σg=1.3). The volatile and hygroscopic properties of both seeded and unseeded SOA were simultaneously measured with a VH-TDMA (volatility – hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyzer). VH-TDMA measurements of unseeded SOA show a decrease in the hygroscopic growth (HGF) factor for increased volatilisation temperatures such that the more volatile compounds appear to be more hygroscopic. This is opposite to the expected preferential evaporation of more volatile but less hygroscopic material, but could also be due to enhanced oligomerisation occurring at the higher temperature in the thermodenuder. In addition, HGF measurements of seeded SOA were measured as a function of time at two relative humidities, below (RH 75%) and above (RH 85%) the deliquescence relative humidity (DRH) of the pure ammonium sulphate seeds. As these measurements were conducted during the onset phase of photo-oxidation, during particle growth, they enabled us to find the dependence of the HGF as a function of the volume fraction of the SOA coating. HGF's measured at RH of 85% showed a continuous decrease as the SOA coating thickness increased. The measured growth factors show good agreements with ZSR predictions indicating that, at these RH values, there are only minor solute-solute interactions. At 75% RH, as the SOA fraction increased, a rapid increase in the HGF was observed indicating that an increasing fraction of the (NH4)2SO4 is subject to a phase transition, going into solution, with an increasing volume fraction of SOA. To our knowledge this is the first time that SOA derived from photo-oxidised α-pinene has been shown to affect the equilibrium water content of inorganic aerosols below their DRH. For SOA volume fractions above ~0.3 the measured growth factor followed roughly parallel to the ZSR prediction based on fully dissolved (NH4)2SO4 although with a small difference that was just larger than the error estimate. Both incomplete dissolution and negative solute-solute interactions could be responsible for the lower HGF observed compared to the ZSR predictions.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationCCN activity and volatility of β-caryophyllene secondary organic aerosol(Copernicus, 2013) Frosch, Mia; Bilde, Merete; Nenes, Athanasios; Praplan, Arnaud P.; Jurányi, Zsófia; Dommen, Josef; Gysel, Martin; Weingartner, Ernest; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]In a series of smog chamber experiments, the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) generated from ozonolysis of β-caryophyllene was characterized by determining the CCN derived hygroscopicity parameter, κCCN, from experimental data. Two types of CCN counters, operating at different temperatures, were used. The effect of semi-volatile organic compounds on the CCN activity of SOA was studied using a thermodenuder. Overall, SOA was only slightly CCN active (with κCCN in the range 0.001–0.16), and in dark experiments with no OH scavenger present, κCCN decreased when particles were sent through the thermodenuder (with a temperature up to 50 °C). SOA was generated under different experimental conditions: In some experiments, an OH scavenger (2-butanol) was added. SOA from these experiments was less CCN active than SOA produced in experiments without an OH scavenger (i.e. where OH was produced during ozonolysis). In other experiments, lights were turned on, either without or with the addition of HONO (OH source). This led to the formation of more CCN active SOA. SOA was aged up to 30 h through exposure to ozone and (in experiments with no OH scavenger present) to OH. In all experiments, the derived κCCN consistently increased with time after initial injection of β-caryophyllene, showing that chemical ageing increases the CCN activity of β-caryophyllene SOA. κCCN was also observed to depend on supersaturation, which was explained either as an evaporation artifact from semi-volatile SOA (only observed in experiments lacking light exposure) or, alternatively, by effects related to chemical composition depending on dry particle size. Using the method of Threshold Droplet Growth Analysis it was also concluded that the activation kinetics of the SOA do not differ significantly from calibration ammonium sulphate aerosol for particles aged for several hours.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationCloud forming potential of secondary organic aerosol under near atmospheric conditions(Wiley, 2008) Duplissy, Jonathan; Gysel, Martin; Alfarra, M. Rami; Dommen, Josef; Metzger, Axel; Prévôt, André S.H.; Weingartner, Ernest; Laaksonen, Ari; Raatikainen, Tomi; Good, Nicholas; Turner, S. Fiona; McFiggans, Gordon; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Geophysical Research Letters]Cloud droplets form by nucleation on atmospheric aerosol particles. Populations of such particles invariably contain organic material, a major source of which is thought to be condensation of photo‐oxidation products of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). We demonstrate that smog chamber studies of the formation of such biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed during photo‐oxidation must be conducted at near atmospheric concentrations to yield atmospherically representative particle composition, hygroscopicity and cloud‐forming potential. Under these conditions, the hygroscopicity measured at 95% relative humidity can be used reliably to predict the CCN activity of the SOA particles by assuming droplet surface tension of pure water. We also show that the supersaturation required to activate a given size of particle decreases with age.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationContribution of new particle formation to the total aerosol concentration at the high‐altitude site Jungfraujoch (3580 m asl, Switzerland)(Wiley, 2016) Tröstl, Jasmin; Herrmann, Erik; Frege, Carla; Bianchi, Federico; Molteni, Ugo; Bukowiecki, Nicolas; Hoyle, Christopher R.; Steinbacher, Martin; Weingartner, Ernest; Dommen, Josef; Gysel, Martin; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres]Previous modeling studies hypothesized that a large fraction of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) is attributed to new particle formation (NPF) in the free troposphere. Despite the potential importance of this process, only few long‐term observations have been performed to date. Here we present the results of a 12 month campaign of NPF observations at the high‐altitude site Jungfraujoch (JFJ, 3580 m above sea level (asl)). Our results show that NPF significantly adds to the total aerosol concentration at the JFJ and only occurs via previous precursor entrainment from the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Freshly nucleated particles do not directly grow to CCN size (90 nm) within observable time scales (maximum 48 h). The contribution of NPF to the CCN concentration is low within this time frame compared to other sources, such as PBL entrainment of larger particles. A multistep growth mechanism is proposed which allows previously formed Aitken mode particles to add to the CCN concentration. A parametrization is derived to explain formation rates at the JFJ, showing that precursor concentration, PBL influence, and global radiation are the key factors controlling new particle formation at the site.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationContribution of sulfuric acid and oxidized organic compounds to particle formation and growth(Copernicus, 2012) Riccobono, Francesco; Rondo, Linda; Sipilä, Mikko; Barmet, Peter; Curtius, Joachim; Dommen, Josef; Ehn, Mikael; Ehrhart, Sebastian; Kulmala, Markku; Kürten, Andreas; Mikkilä, Jyri; Paasonen, Pauli; Petäjä, Tuukka; Weingartner, Ernest; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]Abstract. Lack of knowledge about the mechanisms underlying new particle formation and their subsequent growth is one of the main causes for the large uncertainty in estimating the radiative forcing of atmospheric aerosols in global models. We performed chamber experiments designed to study the contributions of sulfuric acid and organic vapors to the formation and early growth of nucleated particles. Distinct experiments in the presence of two different organic precursors (1,3,5-trimethylbenzene and α-pinene) showed the ability of these compounds to reproduce the formation rates observed in the low troposphere. These results were obtained measuring the sulfuric acid concentrations with two chemical ionization mass spectrometers confirming the results of a previous study which modeled the sulfuric acid concentrations in presence of 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene. New analysis methods were applied to the data collected with a condensation particle counter battery and a scanning mobility particle sizer, allowing the assessment of the size resolved growth rates of freshly nucleated particles. The effect of organic vapors on particle growth was investigated by means of the growth rate enhancement factor (Γ), defined as the ratio between the measured growth rate in the presence of α-pinene and the kinetically limited growth rate of the sulfuric acid and water system. The observed Γ values indicate that the growth is already dominated by organic compounds at particle diameters of 2 nm. Both the absolute growth rates and Γ showed a strong dependence on particle size, supporting the nano-Köhler theory. Moreover, the separation of the contributions from sulfuric acid and organic compounds to particle growth reveals that the organic contribution seems to be enhanced by the sulfuric acid concentration. Finally, the size resolved growth analysis indicates that both condensation of oxidized organic compounds and reactive uptake contribute to particle growth.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationEvidence for the role of organics in aerosol particle formation under atmospheric conditions(National Academy of Sciences, 19.01.2010) Metzger, Axel; Verheggen, Bart; Dommen, Josef; Duplissy, Jonathan; Prévôt, André S.H.; Weingartner, Ernest; Riipinen, Ilona; Kulmala, Markku; Spracklen, Dominick V.; Carslaw, Kenneth S.; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]New particle formation in the atmosphere is an important parameter in governing the radiative forcing of atmospheric aerosols. However, detailed nucleation mechanisms remain ambiguous, as laboratory data have so far not been successful in explaining atmospheric nucleation. We investigated the formation of new particles in a smog chamber simulating the photochemical formation of H2SO4 and organic condensable species. Nucleation occurs at H2SO4 concentrations similar to those found in the ambient atmosphere during nucleation events. The measured particle formation rates are proportional to the product of the concentrations of H2SO4 and an organic molecule. This suggests that only one H2SO4 molecule and one organic molecule are involved in the rate-limiting step of the observed nucleation process. Parameterizing this process in a global aerosol model results in substantially better agreement with ambient observations compared to control runs.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationEvolution of nanoparticle composition in CLOUD in presence of sulphuric acid, ammonia and organics(AIP Publishing, 24.06.2013) Keskinen, Helmi; Virtanen, Annele; Joutsensaari, Jorma; Tsagkogeorgas, Georgios; Duplissy, Jonathan; Schobesberger, Siegfried; Gysel, Martin; Riccobono, Francesco; Slowik, Jay Gates; Bianchi, Federico; Yli-Juuti, Taina; Lehtipalo, Katrianne; Rondo, Linda; Breitenlechner, Martin; Kupc, Agnieszka; Almeida, João; Amorim, Antonio; Dunne, Eimear M.; Downard, Andrew J.; Ehrhart, Sebastian; Franchin, Alessandro; Kajos, Maija K.; Kirkby, Jasper; Kürten, Andreas; Nieminen, Tuomo; Makhmutov, Vladimir; Mathot, Serge; Miettinen, Pasi; Onnela, Antti; Petäjä, Tuukka; Praplan, Arnaud; Santos, Filipe D.; Schallhart, Simon; Sipilä, Mikko; Stozhkov, Yuri; Tomé, Antonio; Vaattovaara, Petri; Wimmer, Daniela; Prévôt, André S.H.; Dommen, Josef; Donahue, Neil M.; Flagan, Richard C.; Viisanen, Yrjö; Weingartner, Ernest; Riipinen, Ilona; Hansel, Armin; Curtius, Joachim; Kulmala, Markku; Worsnop, Douglas R.; Baltensperger, Urs; Wex, Heike; Stratmann, Frank; Laaksonen, Ari; DeMott, Paul J.; O'Dowd, Colin D. [in: Nucleation and atmospheric aerosols]04B - Beitrag Konferenzschrift
- PublicationEvolution of particle composition in CLOUD nucleation experiments(Copernicus, 2013) Keskinen, Helmi; Virtanen, Annele; Joutsensaari, Jorma; Tsagkogeorgas, Georgios; Duplissy, Jonathan; Schobesberger, Siegfried; Gysel, Martin; Riccobono, Francesco; Slowik, Jay Gates; Bianchi, Federico; Yli-Juuti, Taina; Lehtipalo, Katrianne; Rondo, Linda; Breitenlechner, Martin; Kupc, Agnieszka; Almeida, João; Amorim, Antonio; Dunne, Eimear M.; Downard, Andrew J.; Ehrhart, Sebastian; Franchin, Alessandro; Kajos, Maija K.; Kirkby, Jasper; Kürten, Andreas; Nieminen, Tuomo; Makhmutov, Vladimir; Mathot, Serge; Miettinen, Pasi; Onnela, Antti; Petäjä, Tuukka; Praplan, Arnaud; Santos, Felipe D.; Schallhart, Simon; Sipilä, Mikko; Stozhkov, Yuri; Tomé, Antonio; Vaattovaara, Petri; Wimmer, Daniela; Prévôt, André; Dommen, Josef; Donahue, Neil M.; Flagan, Richard C.; Weingartner, Ernest; Viisanen, Yrjö; Riipinen, Ilona; Hansel, Armin; Curtius, Joachim; Kulmala, Markku; Worsnop, Douglas R.; Baltensperger, Urs; Wex, Heike; Stratmann, Frank; Laaksonen, Ari [in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]Sulphuric acid, ammonia, amines, and oxidised organics play a crucial role in nanoparticle formation in the atmosphere. In this study, we investigate the composition of nucleated nanoparticles formed from these compounds in the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) chamber experiments at CERN (Centre européen pour la recherche nucléaire). The investigation was carried out via analysis of the particle hygroscopicity, ethanol affinity, oxidation state, and ion composition. Hygroscopicity was studied by a hygroscopic tandem differential mobility analyser and a cloud condensation nuclei counter, ethanol affinity by an organic differential mobility analyser and particle oxidation level by a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer. The ion composition was studied by an atmospheric pressure interface time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The volume fraction of the organics in the particles during their growth from sizes of a few nanometers to tens of nanometers was derived from measured hygroscopicity assuming the Zdanovskii–Stokes–Robinson relationship, and compared to values gained from the spectrometers. The ZSR-relationship was also applied to obtain the measured ethanol affinities during the particle growth, which were used to derive the volume fractions of sulphuric acid and the other inorganics (e.g. ammonium salts). In the presence of sulphuric acid and ammonia, particles with a mobility diameter of 150 nm were chemically neutralised to ammonium sulphate. In the presence of oxidation products of pinanediol, the organic volume fraction of freshly nucleated particles increased from 0.4 to ~0.9, with an increase in diameter from 2 to 63 nm. Conversely, the sulphuric acid volume fraction decreased from 0.6 to 0.1 when the particle diameter increased from 2 to 50 nm. The results provide information on the composition of nucleated aerosol particles during their growth in the presence of various combinations of sulphuric acid, ammonia, dimethylamine and organic oxidation products.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationFine and ultrafine particles in the Zürich (Switzerland) area measured with a mobile laboratory: an assessment of the seasonal and regional variation throughout a year(Copernicus, 24.09.2003) Bukowiecki, Nicolas; Dommen, Josef; Prévôt, André S.H.; Weingartner, Ernest; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]On occasion of the project YOGAM (year of gas phase and aerosol measurements), the spatial and temporal variation of selected aerosol and gas phase parameters was assessed for the Zürich (Switzerland) area with a new mobile pollutant measurement laboratory. This assessment based on on-road measurements along a specified route on selected days during different seasons in 2001/2002, covering urban, suburban and rural regions. Special focus was put on the investigation and characterization of particles in the fine (particle diameter D<2.5 mm) and ultrafine (D<100 nm) size ranges. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed that the variance of all considered fine and ultrafine aerosol parameters (i.e. particle background and total number concentration for particles larger than 3 nm, number concentrations in the size ranges 7-30 nm and 80-140 nm, as well as the active surface area concentration) was significantly larger for day-to-day than for spatial variation. However, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) found a similar regional pollution pattern within every single measuring day. Lowest particle background levels (D>3 nm) were found in rural areas at higher elevation (15 000 cmˉ³), while corresponding mean background values for urban and freeway-influenced areas were typically 35 000 cmˉ³ and >80 000 cmˉ³, respectively. Meteorology, i.e. prevailing weather conditions not only governed the day-to-day concentration variations in the selected area, but also influenced the formation of primary (directly traffic-related) and in few cases secondary (biogenic or anthropogenic) ultrafine particles. Overall, low temperatures regularly enhanced primary ultrafine particle formation in urban areas. There was a possible indication for relatively low number concentrations of secondary ultrafine particles during a few warm and sunny spring days. Mobile measurements as they were performed in this study have been shown to be suitable for pollutant assessments to obtain good information on spatial and day-to-day variability. For experimental studies concerning spatial resolution on a relatively short time scale (<1 day), a mobile measurement design may even be more appropriate than a network of stationary measuring sites.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationIdentification of organic acids in secondary organic aerosol and the corresponding gas phase from chamber experiments(American Chemical Society, 15.10.2004) Fisseha, Rebeka; Dommen, Josef; Sax, Mirjam; Paulsen, Dwane; Kalberer, Markus; Maurer, Rolf; Höfler, Frank; Weingartner, Ernest; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Analytical Chemistry]Organic acids in the gas and aerosol phase from photooxidation of 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene in the presence of 300 ppb propene and 300 ppb NOx in smog chamber experiments were determined using a wet effluent diffusion denuder/aerosol collector coupled to ion chromatography (IC) with conductivity detection. Behind the IC, the samples were collected using a fraction collector, for identification of unresolved/unidentified organic acids with IC-mass spectrometry (MS). In total, 20 organic acids were found with MS of which 10 were identified. The organic acids identified offline by IC-MS were then further quantified based on the online IC data. The identification was additionally confirmed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. At the maximum aerosol concentration, organic acids comprised 20-45% of the total aerosol mass. The method has a detection limit of 10-100 ng/m3 for the identified carboxylic acids.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationIdentification of polymers as major components of atmospheric organic aerosols(Springer, 2004) Kalberer, Markus; Paulsen, Dwane; Sax, Mirjam; Steinbacher, Martin; Dommen, Josef; Prévôt, André S.H.; Fisseha, Rebeka; Weingartner, Ernest; Frankevich, Vladimir; Zenobi, Renato; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Science]Results from photooxidation of aromatic compounds in a reaction chamber show that a substantial fraction of the organic aerosol mass is composed of polymers. This polymerization results from reactions of carbonyls and their hydrates. After aging for more than 20 hours, about 50% of the particle mass consists of polymers with a molecular mass up to 1000 daltons. This results in a lower volatility of this secondary organic aerosol and a higher aerosol yield than a model using vapor pressures of individual organic species would predict.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationImpact of aftertreatment devices on primary emissions and secondary organic aerosol formation potential from in-use diesel vehicles: results from smog chamber experiments(Copernicus, 06.12.2010) Chirico, Roberto; DeCarlo, Peter F.; Heringa, Maarten F.; Tritscher, Torsten; Richter, René; Prévôt, André S. H.; Dommen, Josef; Weingartner, Ernest; Wehrle, Günther; Gysel, Martin; Laborde, Marie; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]Diesel particulate matter (DPM) is a significant source of aerosol in urban areas and has been linked to adverse health effects. Although newer European directives have introduced increasingly stringent standards for primary PM emissions, gaseous organics emitted from diesel cars can still lead to large amounts of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in the atmosphere. Here we present results from smog chamber investigations characterizing the primary organic aerosol (POA) and the corresponding SOA formation at atmospherically relevant concentrations for three in-use diesel vehicles with different exhaust aftertreatment systems. One vehicle lacked exhaust aftertreatment devices, one vehicle was equipped with a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and the third vehicle used both a DOC and diesel particulate filter (DPF). The experiments presented here were obtained from the vehicles at conditions representative of idle mode, and for one car in addition at a speed of 60 km/h. An Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) was used to measure the organic aerosol (OA) concentration and to obtain information on the chemical composition. For the conditions explored in this paper, primary aerosols from vehicles without a particulate filter consisted mainly of black carbon (BC) with a low fraction of organic matter (OM, OM/BC < 0.5), while the subsequent aging by photooxidation resulted in a consistent production of SOA only for the vehicles without a DOC and with a deactivated DOC. After 5 h of aging ~80% of the total organic aerosol was on average secondary and the estimated "emission factor" for SOA was 0.23–0.56 g/kg fuel burned. In presence of both a DOC and a DPF, only 0.01 g SOA per kg fuel burned was produced within 5 h after lights on. The mass spectra indicate that POA was mostly a non-oxidized OA with an oxygen to carbon atomic ratio (O/C) ranging from 0.10 to 0.19. Five hours of oxidation led to a more oxidized OA with an O/C range of 0.21 to 0.37.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationInfluence of gas-to-particle partitioning on the hygroscopic and droplet activation behaviour of α-pinene secondary organic aerosol(Royal Society of Chemistry, 05.08.2009) Jurányi, Zsófia; Gysel, Martin; Duplissy, Jonathan; Weingartner, Ernest; Tritscher, Torsten; Dommen, Josef; Henning, Silvia; Ziese, Markus; Kiselev, Alexej; Stratmann, Frank; George, Ingrid; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics]Hygroscopic properties of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed by photooxidation of different concentrations (10–27 or 220–270 ppb) of α-pinene precursor were investigated at different relative humidities (RH) using a hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA, RH = 95–97%) and using the mobile version of the Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS-mobile, RH = 98–99.3%). In addition, the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity was measured applying two CCN counters (CCNC). An apparent single-hygroscopicity parameter, κ, of ∼0.09, ∼0.07–0.13, and ∼0.02–0.04 was derived from CCNC, HTDMA and LACIS data, respectively, assuming the surface tension of pure water. Closure between HTDMA and CCNC data was achieved within experimental uncertainty, whereas closure between LACIS and CCNC was only achieved by assuming a concentration-dependent surface tension reduction, consequently resulting in lower CCNC-derived κ values. Comparing different experimental techniques at varying precursor concentrations in more detail reveals further open questions. Varying precursor concentration influences hygroscopic growth factors at subsaturated RH, while it has no effect on the CCN activation. This difference in behaviour might be caused by precursor concentration-dependent surface tension depression or changing droplet solution concentration dependence of the water activity coefficient with varying SOA composition. Furthermore, evidence was found that the SOA might need several seconds to reach the equilibrium growth factor at high RH.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationIntercomparison study of six HTDMAs. results and recommendations(Copernicus, 24.07.2009) Duplissy, Jonathan; Gysel, Martin; Sjogren, S.; Meyer, Nickolas; Good, Nicholas; Kammermann, Lukas; Michaud, Vincent; Weigel, Ralf; Martins dos Santos, Sebastiao; Gruening, Carsten; Villani, P.; Laj, Paolo; Sellegri, Karine; Metzger, Axel; McFiggans, Gordon B.; Wehrle, Günther; Richter, René; Dommen, Josef; Ristovski, Zoran; Baltensperger, Urs; Weingartner, Ernest [in: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques]We report on an intercomparison of six different hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analysers HTDMAs). These HTDMAs are used worldwide in laboratory experiments and field campaigns to measure the water uptake of aerosol particles and have never been intercompared. After an investigation of the different design of the instruments with their advantages and inconveniencies, the methods for calibration, validation and data analysis are presented. Measurements of nebulised ammonium sulphate as well as of secondary organic aerosol generated from a smog chamber were performed. Agreement and discrepancies between the instruments and to the theory are discussed, and final recommendations for a standard instrument are given, as a benchmark for laboratory or field experiments to ensure a high quality of HTDMA data.01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
- PublicationInvestigations of primary and secondary particulate matter of different wood combustion appliances with a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer(Copernicus, 23.06.2011) Heringa, Maarten F.; DeCarlo, Peter F.; Chirico, Roberto; Tritscher, Torsten; Dommen, Josef; Weingartner, Ernest; Richter, René; Wehrle, Günther; Prévôt, André S.H.; Baltensperger, Urs [in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]A series of photo-oxidation smog chamber experiments were performed to investigate the primary emissions and secondary aerosol formation from two different log wood burners and a residential pellet burner under different burning conditions: starting and flaming phase. Emissions were sampled from the chimney and injected into the smog chamber leading to primary organic aerosol (POA) concentrations comparable to ambient levels. The composition of the aerosol was measured by an Aerodyne high resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-TOF-AMS) and black carbon (BC) instrumentation. The primary emissions were then exposed to xenon light to initiate photo-chemistry and subsequent secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production. After correcting for wall losses, the average increase in organic matter (OM) concentrations by SOA formation for the starting and flaming phase experiments with the two log wood burners was found to be a factor of 4.1±1.4 after five hours of aging. No SOA formation was observed for the stable burning phase of the pellet burner. The startup emissions of the pellet burner showed an increase in OM concentration by a factor of 3.3. Including the measured SOA formation potential, average emission factors of BC+POA+SOA, calculated from CO2 emission, were found to be in the range of 0.04 to 3.9 g/kg wood for the stable burning pellet burner and an old log wood burner during startup respectively. SOA contributed significantly to the ion C2H4O2+ at mass to charge ratio m/z 60, a commonly used marker for primary emissions of wood burning. This contribution at m/z 60 can overcompensate for the degradation of levoglucosan leading to an overestimation of the contribution of wood burning or biomass burning to the total OM. The primary organic emissions from the three different burners showed a wide range in O:C atomic ratio (0.19−0.60) for the starting and flaming conditions, which also increased during aging. Primary wood burning emissions have a rather low relative contribution at m/z 43 (f 43) to the total organic mass spectrum. The non-oxidized fragment C3H7+ has a considerable contribution at m/z 43 for the fresh OA with an increasing contribution of the oxygenated ion C2H3O+ during aging. After five hours of aging, the OA has a rather low C2H3O+ signal for a given CO2+ fraction, possibly indicating a higher ratio of acid to non-acid oxygenated compounds in wood burning OA compared to other oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA).01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift