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Science 4 June 2004:
Vol. 304. no. 5676, pp. 1487 - 1490
DOI: 10.1126/science.1095139
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Reports

Atmospheric New Particle Formation Enhanced by Organic Acids

Renyi Zhang,1* Inseon Suh,1 Jun Zhao,1 Dan Zhang,1 Edward C. Fortner,1 Xuexi Tie,2 Luisa T. Molina,3 Mario J. Molina3

Atmospheric aerosols often contain a substantial fraction of organic matter, but the role of organic compounds in new nanometer-sized particle formation is highly uncertain. Laboratory experiments show that nucleation of sulfuric acid is considerably enhanced in the presence of aromatic acids. Theoretical calculations identify the formation of an unusually stable aromatic acid–sulfuric acid complex, which likely leads to a reduced nucleation barrier. The results imply that the interaction between organic and sulfuric acids promotes efficient formation of organic and sulfate aerosols in the polluted atmosphere because of emissions from burning of fossil fuels, which strongly affect human health and global climate.

1 Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
2 Atmospheric Chemistry Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307, USA.
3 Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: zhang{at}ariel.met.tamu.edu

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