Evidence for the existence of organosulfates from β-pinene ozonolysis in ambient secondary organic aerosol

The formation of organosulfates from the gas-phase ozonolysis of beta-pinene in the presence of neutral or acidic sulfate particles was investigated in a series of indoor aerosol chamber experiments. The organosulfates were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to electrospray ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS) in parallel to ion trap MS. Organosulfates were only found in secondary organic aerosol from beta-pinene ozonolysis in the presence of acidic sulfate seed particles. One of the detected organosulfates also occurred in ambient aerosol samples that were collected at a forest site in northeastern Bavaria, Germany. beta-Pinene oxide, an oxidation product in beta-pinene/O-3 and beta-pinene/NO3 reactions, is identified as a possible precursor for the beta-pinene-derived organosulfate. Furthermore, several nitroxy-organosulfates originating from monoterpenes were found in the ambient samples. These nitroxy-organosulfates were only detected in the nighttime samples, suggesting a role for nighttime chemistry in their formation. Their LC/MS chromatographic peak intensities suggest that they represent an important fraction of the organic mass in ambient aerosols, especially at night.