Partitioning of airborne PAEs on indoor impermeable surfaces: A microscopic view of the sorption process

Organic films were widely found on indoor impermeable surfaces exposed to gaseous organic compounds, but few studies have addressed the film growth details on different indoor substrates. In this study, we observed the topography evolution of phthalic acid ester (PAE) organic films on three impermeable substrates: polished glass (G-P), mirror-polished stainless steel (SS-M) and drawn stainless steel (SS-D). PAE organic films were preferentially formed upon the flat surface with sparse inherent nano-peaks of substrate G-P and in valleys of substrate SS-M and SS-D. Surface uniformity of substrates and viscosity of PAE molecules were inferred as critical parameters determining the surface average adhesion forces. We obtained the partition coefficients of DEP, DnBP, BBP and DEHP on substrate G-P, SS-M and SS-D by fitting the initial monolayer adsorption process. Organic films continuously grew instead of reaching adsorption equilibrium after long-term PAE exposure, indicating that multilayer adsorption may occur. The organic film growth rates in saturated gas-phase PAE concentrations were quantified as about one-tenth of the results in previous studies where substrates were simultaneously exposed to multiple pollutants. To sum up, the results outline PAE adsorption details on impermeable materials and provide a reference for better estimation on PAE exposure assessment.

Automated summary

Organic films were observed to preferentially form on impermeable substrates with certain surface topography, and the surface uniformity of the substrates and viscosity of PAE molecules played critical roles in determining the adhesion forces. The growth of organic films on these substrates did not reach adsorption equilibrium even after long-term exposure, suggesting the possibility of multilayer adsorption. The growth rates of organic films in saturated gas-phase PAE concentrations were found to be significantly lower compared to previous studies with exposure to multiple pollutants simultaneously.