Ammonium Addition (and Aerosol pH) Has a Dramatic Impact on the Volatility and Yield of Glyoxal Secondary Organic Aerosol

Glyoxal is an important precursor to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed through aqueous chemistry in clouds, fogs, and wet aerosols, yet the gas-particle partitioning of the resulting mixture is not well understood. This work characterizes the volatility behavior of the glyoxal precursor/product mix formed after aqueous hydroxyl radical oxidation and droplet evaporation under cloud-relevant conditions for 10 min, thus aiding the prediction of SOA via this pathway (SOACld). This work uses kinetic modeling for droplet composition, droplet evaporation experiments and temperature-programmed desorption aerosol–chemical ionization mass spectrometer analysis of gas-particle partitioning. An effective vapor pressure (p′L,eff) of ∼10–7 atm and an enthalpy of vaporization (ΔH vap,eff) of ∼70 kJ/mol were estimated for this mixture. These estimates are similar to those of oxalic acid, which is a major product. Addition of ammonium until the pH reached 7 (with ammonium hydroxide) reduced the p′L,eff to 80 kJ/mol, at least in part via the formation of ammonium oxalate. pH 7 samples behaved like ammonium oxalate, which has a vapor pressure of ∼10–11 atm. We conclude that ammonium addition has a large effect on the gas-particle partitioning of the mixture, substantially enhancing the yield of SOACld from glyoxal.