Gas- and Particle-Phase Products from the Chlorine-Initiated Oxidation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

The chlorine atom (Cl)-initiated oxidation of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; namely, naphthalene, acenaphthylene, and acenaphthene) was investigated. Experiments were performed in an atmospheric simulation chamber using a proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) and an aerosol TOF-MS to characterize the oxidation products in the gas and particle phases, respectively. The major products identified from the reaction of Cl atoms with naphthalene were phthalic anhydride and chloronaphthalene, indicating that H atom abstraction and Cl addition reaction pathways are both important. Acenaphthenone was the principal product arising from reaction of Cl with acenaphthene, while 1,8-naphthalic anhydride, acenaphthenone, acenaphthenequinone, and chloroacenaphthenone were all identified as products of acenaphthylene oxidation, confirming that the cylcopenta-fused ring controls the reactivity of these PAHs toward Cl atoms. Possible reaction mechanisms are proposed for the formation of these products, and favored pathways have been suggested. Large yields of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) were also observed in all experiments, and the major products were found to undergo significant partitioning to the particle-phase. This work suggests that Cl-initiated oxidation could play an important role in SOA formation from PAHs under specific atmospheric conditions where the Cl atom concentration is high, such as the marine boundary layer.