Oxidation of oleic acid at air/liquid interfaces

Oxidation of oleic acid monolayers by ozone was studied to understand the fate of fat-coated aerosols from both freshwater and saltwater sources. Oleic acid monolayers at the air/water interface and at the air/sodium chloride solution interface were investigated using surface-specific, broad-bandwidth, sum frequency generation spectroscopy. Complementary techniques of infrared reflection adsorption spectroscopy and surface pressure measurements taken during monolayer oxidation confirmed the sum frequency results. Using this nonlinear optical technique coupled with a Langmuir trough, concurrent spectroscopic and thermodynamic data were collected to obtain a molecular picture of the monolayers. No substantial difference was observed between oxidation of monolayers spread on water and on 0.6 M sodium chloride solutions. Results indicate that depending on the size of the aerosol and the extent of oxidation, the subsequent oxidation products may not remain at the surface of these films, but instead be dissolved in the aqueous subphase of the aerosol particle. Results also indicate that oxidation of oleic acid could produce monolayers containing species that have no oxidized acyl chains.