Friday, October 26, 2007 - 11:40 AM
Redbud B (Greenville Hyatt Regency Hotel)
489

AFT/FTIR Studies of the Heterogeneous Chemical Reaction of Oleic Acid, Palmitic Acid, and Mixed Oleic-Palmitic Acid Aerosols with Ozone

Stephanie Scott and Cindy DeForest Hauser. Davidson College, Davidson, NC

Oxidation of organic species, such as oleic acid and pyrene, in aerosol particles affects the composition of the atmosphere, alters its light scattering and hygroscopic properties, and poses potential health threats in the form of oxidation products. Oleic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid produced by the cooking of meat, is typically used as a model organic aerosol in ozonolysis studies to gain an understanding of the composition and chemistry of earth's oxidizing atmosphere. Atmospheric aerosols, however, are composed of many species and phases which will impact the rate at which they react with oxidizing gases. In this study, ozonolysis of pure oleic acid aerosols, pure palmitic acid aerosols, and three mixtures, 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8 palmitic acid:oleic acid, was monitored using Aerosol Flow Tube/Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (AFT/FTIR). Spectra of oxidized oleic acid aerosols represented peaks at 1778 cm-1, 1740 cm-1, and 1716 cm-1, indicating the presence of a carboxylic acid, ester and aldehyde respectively. A peak at 1640 cm-1 was also observed and could possibly represent the presence of Criegee intermediates or ozonides; however, reference spectra are unavailable for these unstable intermediates. No reaction was observed in the ozonolysis of pure palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid, as was expected. Spectra of oxidized oleic-palmitic acid mixtures were similar to spectra for oxidized pure oleic acid aerosols; and the extent of reaction was shown to increase as the concentration of oleic acid in the aerosols increased.