Temperature dependence of secondary organic aerosol formation by photo-oxidation of hydrocarbons

Photo-oxidation experiments on hydrocarbons were performed with a temperature-controlled smog chamber to study the temperature dependence of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. A higher SOA yield was obtained at lower temperature and with a higher concentration of SOA generated. The relationship of SOA yield to temperature and SOA concentration is expressed by a gas/particle partitioning absorption model considered with temperature dependence. Under the condition of the same SOA concentration, the SOA yield at 283 K was approximately twice that at 303 K. It has been clarified experitrientally that temperature is one of the most important factors in SOA formation. The experiments were performed not only with three aromatic hydrocarbons (toluene, m-xylene and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene) and one biogenic alkene (alpha-pinene), but also with one alkane (n-undecane) on which few experiments for SOA formation have been performed. n-Undecane indicates a lower SOA yield than any other hydrocarbon investigated in this study. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.