Barrierless reactions of C2 Criegee intermediates with H 2 SO 4 and their implication to oligomers and new particle formation

The formation of oligomeric hydrogen peroxide triggered by Criegee intermediate maybe contributes significantly to the formation and growth of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). However, to date, the reactivity of C2 Criegee intermediates (CH CHOO) in areas contaminated with acidic gas remains poorly understood. Herein, high-level quantum chemical calculations and Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) simulations are used to explore the reaction of CH CHOO and H SO both in the gas phase and at the air-water interface. In the gas phase, the addition reaction of CH CHOO with H SO to generate CH HC(OOH)OSO H (HPES) is near-barrierless, regardless of the presence of water molecules. BOMD simulations show that the reaction at the air-water interface is even faster than that in the gas phase. Further calculations reveal that the HPES has a tendency to aggregate with sulfuric acids, ammonias, and water molecules to form stable clusters, meanwhile the oligomerization reaction of CH CHOO with HPES in the gas phase is both thermochemically and kinetically favored. Also, it is noted that the interfacial HPES ion can attract H SO , NH , (COOH) and HNO for particle formation from the gas phase to the water surface. Thus, the results of this work not only elucidate the high atmospheric reactivity of C2 Criegee intermediates in polluted regions, but also deepen our understanding of the formation process of atmospheric SOA induced by Criegee intermediates.