Temperature- and pH-Dependent Aqueous-Phase Kinetics of the Reactions of Glyoxal and Methylglyoxal With Atmospheric Amines and Ammonium Sulfate

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2013

Abstract

Reactions of glyoxal (Glx) and methylglyoxal (MG) with primary amines and ammonium salts may produce brown carbon and N-containing oligomers in aqueous aerosol. 1H NMR monitoring of reactant losses and product appearance in bulk aqueous reactions were used to derive rate constants and quantify competing reaction pathways as a function of pH and temperature. Glx + ammonium sulfate (AS) and amine reactions generate products containing C–N bonds, with rates depending directly on pH: rate = (70 ± 60) M−1 s−1fAld [Glx]totfAm [Am]tot, where fAld is the fraction of aldehyde with a dehydrated aldehyde functional group, and fAm is the fraction of amine or ammonia that is deprotonated at a given pH. MG + amine reactions generate mostly aldol condensation products and exhibit less pH dependence: rate = 10[(0.36 ± 0.06) × pH − (3.6 ± 0.3)] M−1 s−1fAld[MG]tot [Am]tot. Aldehyde + AS reactions are less temperature-dependent (Ea = 18 ± 8 kJ mol−1) than corresponding amine reactions (Ea = 50 ± 11 kJ mol−1). Using aerosol concentrations of [OH] = 10−12 M, [amine]tot = [AS] = 0.1 M, fGlx = 0.046 andfMG = 0.09, we estimate that OH radical reactions are normally the major aerosol-phase sink for both dicarbonyl compounds. However, reactions with AS and amines together can account for up to 12 and 45% of daytime aerosol-phase glyoxal and methylglyoxal reactivity, respectively, in marine aerosol at pH 5.5. Reactions with AS and amines become less important in acidic or non-marine aerosol, but may still be significant atmospheric sources of brown carbon, imidazoles, and nitrogen-containing oligomers.

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