Hygroscopicity and cloud condensation nucleation activities of hydroxyalkylsulfonates

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jul 15:830:154767. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154767. Epub 2022 Mar 26.

Abstract

Hydroxyalkylsulfonates may contribute significantly to atmospheric particles; however, their hygroscopic properties and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activities remain unknown. In this study, three complementary techniques were utilized to examine the hygroscopicity of sodium hydroxymethanesulfonate (NaHMS), sodium 2-hydroxyethylsulfonate (NaHES), and ammonium 2-hydroxyethylsulfonate (NH4HES) under subsaturated and supersaturated environments. The mass changes in the three hydroxyalkylsulfonates at different relative humidities at 25 °C were examined by a vapor sorption analyzer, and the mass growth factors were measured to be 3.25 ± 0.01 for NaHMS, 3.32 ± 0.02 for NaHES, and 3.34 ± 0.04 for NH4HES at 90% RH. Their hygroscopic growth was investigated by a humidity tandem differential mobility analyzer, and hygroscopic growth factors were 1.78 ± 0.02 for NaHMS, 1.71 ± 0.02 for NaHES, and 1.68 ± 0.03 for NH4HES at 90% RH. Furthermore, the CCN activities of NaHMS, NaHES, and NH4HES were explored, and their single hygroscopicity parameters (κccn) were measured to be 0.649 ± 0.097 for NaHMS, 0.559 ± 0.069 for NaHES, and 0.434 ± 0.073 for NH4HES. In addition, the hygroscopic growth and CCN activities of binary mixtures of ammonium sulfate with one of the three hydroxyalkylsulfonates were also examined.

Keywords: Aerosol particles; Aerosol-water interaction; CCN; H-TDMA; Hydroxymethanesulfonate.

MeSH terms

  • Aerosols
  • Alkanesulfonates / chemistry*
  • Ammonium Sulfate
  • Gases*
  • Humidity
  • Wettability

Substances

  • Aerosols
  • Alkanesulfonates
  • Gases
  • Ammonium Sulfate