Contribution of methyl group to secondary organic aerosol formation from aromatic hydrocarbon photooxidation

The complete atmospheric oxidation pathways leading to secondary organic aerosol remain elusive for aromatic compounds including the role of methyl substitutes on oxidation. This study investigates the contribution of methyl group to Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) formation during the photooxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons under low NOx condition by applying methyl carbon labeled aromatic hydrocarbons ((13C2) m-xylene and (13C2) p-xylene). Particle and gas phase oxidation products are analyzed by a series of mass spectrometers (HR-TOF-AMS, PTR-MS and SIFT-MS). The methyl group carbon containing oxidation products partition to the particle-phase at a lower rate than the carbons originating from the aromatic ring as a result of ring opening reactions. Further, the methyl carbon in the original aromatic structure is at least 7 times less likely to be oxidized when forming products that partition to SOA than the aromatic ring carbon. Therefore, oxidation of the methyl group in xylenes exerts little impact on SOA formation in current study. This study provides supporting evidence for a recent finding -- a similarity in the SOA formation and composition from aromatic hydrocarbons regardless of the alkyl substitutes. •Isotope labeled precursors facilitate the understanding of SOA formation.•Majority of aromatic methyl carbons oxidized to form volatile products.•Aromatic ring is the driving force for SOA formation from xylenes.