Direct measurement of OH radicals from ozonolysis of selected alkenes: A EUPHORE simulation chamber study

Reactions of ozone with alkenes can be a significant source of hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere. In the present paper, the formation of OH radicals in the ozonolysis of selected alkenes under atmospheric conditions was directly observed. The experiments were carried out in the European photoreactor EUPHORE (Valencia, Spain). OH radicals were quantitatively detected by means of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) using a new analytical instrument, which has been constructed on the basis of an existing setup already established in field studies. The OH radicals observed resulted directly from the reaction of ozone with the corresponding alkene. There was no indication that OH radicals were produced in the system by secondary processes. The experimentally observed concentration-time profiles of OH and ozone were excellently described by chemical modeling using explicit reaction mechanisms. The following OH yields were derived: 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene: (1.00 +/- 0.25); 2-methyl-2-butene: (0.89 +/- 0.22); trans-2-butene: (0.75 +/- 0.19); alpha -pinene: (0.91 +/- 0.23). In addition, the experiments carried out were modeled using the Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (RACM), an established condensed chemical model applied in tropospheric chemistry. For 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene, 2-methyl-2-butene, and trans-2-butene the calculated concentration-time profiles of OH and ozone are in quite good agreement with the experimental data. However, in the case of alpha -pinene, the model fails for the simulation of OH due to the high grade of mechanism condensation, which results in a poor characterization of the primary reaction products.