Observation of Vapor Wall Deposition in a Smog Chamber Using Size Evolution of Pure Organic Particles

ABSTRACT  Prior studies have shown that neglecting the vapor wall loss could lead to the underestimation of the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) yields in smog chamber experiments. The majority of the previous studies investigated vapor wall loss of a wide range of semi-volatile organic vapors at room temperatures using extensive chemical analysis. This study poses a question: Can vapor wall deposition in a smog chamber be observed only using physical measurements of aerosol properties? This study assesses the significance of vapor wall loss using only the size evolution of pure organic compound particles. To our knowledge, this technique is used for the first time in assessing the vapor wall loss of chemical species in chamber experiments. Dark experiments were conducted by injecting pure levoglucosan particles into an outdoor smog chamber at multiple ambient temperatures, ranging from -10oC to +15oC. Peak diameter analysis revealed levoglucosan particles shrunk by ~37% at 15oC and ~20% at 10oC experiments, whereas no shrinkage was observed at temperatures below 0°C suggesting significant vapor wall loss of levoglucosan at warmer temperatures (> 10oC). Two-Moment Aerosol Sectional (TOMAS) and additional simple kinetic model simulations suggest that the effects of temperature on vapor wall loss can primarily be explained by the change in saturation vapor pressure of the organic compound and that the lack of apparent vapor wall loss of levoglucosan below 0°C was due to kinetics, i.e., slow evaporation relative to the chamber experiment timescales. The same approach can be applied to other organic species to expand the range of volatility relevant to chamber experiments.