New Insights into Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation: Water Binding to Limonene

Limonene is an abundant monoterpene in the atmosphere and one of the main precursors of secondary organic aerosol. Understanding its interactions with atmospheric molecules is crucial to explain aerosol formation and the various products obtained from competing reaction pathways. Here, using broadband rotational spectroscopy in combination with computational calculations, we show that limonene effectively interacts with water, forming a variety of complexes. Seven different isomers of limonene-H2O, where water and limonene are connected by O-H center dot center dot center dot pi and C-H center dot center dot center dot O interactions, have been unambiguously identified. Water has been found to preferentially bind to the endocyclic double bond of limonene. Our findings demonstrate a striking ability of water to attach to limonene and enrich our knowledge on the possible interactions of limonene in the atmosphere.

Automated summary

Limonene effectively interacts with water to form various complexes, with water preferentially binding to the endocyclic double bond of limonene. These findings enrich our understanding of the interactions of limonene in the atmosphere.