H2SO4 formation from the gas-phase reaction of stabilized Criegee Intermediates with SO2: Influence of water vapour content and temperature

The importance of gas-phase products from alkene ozonolysis other than OH radicals, most likely stabilized Criegee Intermediates (sCI), for the process of atmospheric SO2 oxidation to H2SO4 has been recently discovered. Subjects of this work are investigations on H2SO4 formation as a function of water vapour content (RH = 2-65%) and temperature (278-343 K) starting from the ozonolysis of trans-2-butene and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene (TME). H2SO4 production other than via the OH radical reaction was attributed to the reaction of SO2 with sCI, i.e. acetaldehyde oxide arising from trans-2-butene ozonolysis and acetone oxide from TME. Measurements have been conducted in an atmospheric pressure flow tube using NO3−-CI-APi-TOF mass spectrometry for H2SO4 detection. The sCI yields derived from H2SO4 measurements at 293 K were 0.49 ± 0.22 for acetaldehyde oxide and 0.45 ± 0.20 for acetone oxide. Our findings indicate a H2SO4 yield from sCI + SO2 of unity or close to unity. The deduced rate coefficient ratio for the reaction of sCI with H2O and SO2, k(sCI + H2O)/k(sCI + SO2), was found to be strongly dependent on the structure of the Criegee Intermediate, for acetaldehyde oxide at 293 K: (8.8 ± 0.4)·10−5 (syn- and anti-conformer in total) and for acetone oxide: <4·10−6. H2SO4 formation from sCI was pushed back with rising temperature in both reaction systems most probably due to an enhancement of sCI decomposition. The ratio k(dec)/k(sCI + SO2) increased by a factor of 34 (acetone oxide) increasing the temperature from 278 to 343 K. In the case of acetaldehyde oxide the temperature effect is less pronounced. The relevance of atmospheric H2SO4 formation via sCI + SO2 is discussed in view of its dependence on the structure of the Criegee Intermediate.