Insight into wet scavenging effects on sulfur and nitrogen containing organic compounds in urban Beijing

This study investigates the wet scavenging effects on sulfur-containing organic compounds (SOCs) and nitrogen-containing organic compounds (NOCs) in urban Beijing's submicron aerosols. High-resolution real-time measurements revealed that OA composition shifted from SOCs dominance before wet processes to NOCs dominance afterward. Molecular fragment analysis indicated that SOCs mainly comprised glycolic acid sulfate (formed via aqueous-phase processing) and photochemically-formed aromatic- and monoterpene-derived SOCs. NOCs were diverse, dominated by highly oxidized amides and amino acids, primarily produced photochemically. The study provides insights into the formation and evolution pathways of SOCs and NOCs in urban OA.

Chunyan Zhang, Yonghong Wang, Jun Liu, Tianzeng Chen, Wei Huang, Zirui Liu, Biwu Chu, Qingxin Ma, Hong He