Suppression of anthropogenic secondary organic aerosol formation by isoprene

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) represents a major fraction of atmospheric fine particles. Both biogenic and anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can contribute to SOA through (photo-) oxidation. However, the current understanding of their combined, interactive effect on SOA formation and composition is still limited, challenging the accuracy in assessing global SOA budget, sources, and climate effect. Here we combine laboratory experiments and modelling to show that isoprene can suppress SOA formation from photo-oxidation of anthropogenic aromatics (toluene and p-xylene) with the presence of NOx, and similar SOA suppression phenomena are observed when replacing isoprene with propene. We find that the decreased SOA in such mixed-VOC conditions can be largely attributed to OH scavenging effect, resulting in reduced consumption of parent aromatics. However, various changes in SOA oxidation state (i.e., O/C) and oxidation pathways (Le., more carbonyls formation) are observed following addition of isoprene, and the SOA chemical composition may not be similar to any single parent hydrocarbon, which implies the existence of complex interactions between the degradation chemistry for alkenes and aromatics. Under the conditions of this work, the OH scavenging effect is largely determined by gas-phase chemistry, which is expected to be widespread in binary or more complex systems in ambient air. More broadly, we infer that the global budget of anthropogenic SOA and its corresponding radiative forcing could be affected by biogenic emission of isoprene, particularly in urban environments with appreciable vegetation coverage.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates that isoprene can suppress the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) from the photo-oxidation of anthropogenic aromatics. The presence of isoprene reduces the consumption of parent aromatics, resulting in decreased SOA formation. However, changes in the oxidation state and chemical composition of SOA are observed following the addition of isoprene.