A Review of the Aqueous Aerosol Surface Chemistry in the Atmospheric Context

Abstract

In this review the surface chemistry and properties of aqueous atmosphericaerosols are explored. Water plays a major role in scavenging pollutants.Reactions occur on thin water films in atmospheric aerosols. Thestudy of the aerosol wa- ter surface is important to properly accountfor chemical transformations in the troposphere. The thermodynamicsof adsorption of organic molecules and oxidant species on the aqueoussurface and, the techniques employed to quantify the adsorption isothermsare summarized. Experimental techniques for elucidating the reactionson the water surface are described. Field and laboratory data foroxidation reactions of compounds at the air-water interface are summarized.The Langmuir-Hinshelwood reaction mechanism is useful in quantifyingthe reaction rate on the aqueous aerosol sur- face. A hypothesisfor the large heterogeneous reaction rate on the water surface overthe homogeneous bulk aqueous phase reaction is presented.