Temperature-Dependent Deliquescent and Efflorescent Properties of Methanesulfonate Sodium Studied by ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy

Modeling of aerosols and cloud formation processes in the marine boundary layer (MBL) require extensive data on hygroscopic properties of relevant methanesulfonate particles, which are currently scarce. In this work, methanesulfonate sodium (CH3SO3Na, MSA-Na), the most abundant methanesulfonate salt, was selected, and its deliquescent and efflorescent properties at temperatures relevant to the lower troposphere were studied using an ATR-FTIR flow system. To validate the approach, we investigated hygroscopic properties of NaCl particles, and our measured deliquescent relative humidity (DRH) and efflorescent relative humidity (ERH) of the NaCl particles obtained from the changes in integrated absorbance of water peaks in infrared spectra agreed with literature data well. We then reported DRH and ERH of MSA-Na particles as a function of temperature for the first time using both the changes in integrated absorbance of water peaks and the changes in peak position and shape of CH3SO3 – symmetric and asymmetric vibrational modes. Our experiments showed that MSA-Na particles present quite different temperature-dependent hygroscopic behaviors from NaCl. Both the DRH and ERH of MSA-Na particles increase with decreasing temperatures. Due to the significant differences in temperature-dependent DRH and ERH, NaCl particles, if processed in MBL by methanesulfonic acid, are expected to deliquesce slightly earlier during a hydration process but effloresce at a much earlier stage during a dehydration process, especially at lower temperatures. This could considerably influence phase, size, and water content of sea salt aerosols and consequently their reactivity, lifetime, and impacts on atmospheric chemistry and climate systems.