Competitive oxidation in atmospheric aerosols: The case for relative kinetics

Abstract

We develop relative kinetics for heterogeneous oxidation of multi-component organic aerosols. Common accommodation, diffusion, and deposition terms cancel in this formulation, and rate constants may be determined for many compounds simultaneously within an aerosol with a realistic composition. Finally, cross-phase relative rate constants with a gas-phase reference compound and a condensed-phase target compound provide effective rate constants for use in atmospheric models. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.