References

ACPD

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions

ACPD

1680-7375

Copernicus GmbH

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/acpd-10-29051-2010

Atmospheric homogeneous nucleation of H2SO4 and H2O

Benson

D. R.

¹ Erupe

M. E.

¹ Yu

J. H.

¹ Markovich

¹ Lee

S.-H.

Kent State University, Department of Chemistry, Kent, Ohio 44240, USA

25 11 2010

10 11 29051 29073

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We report laboratory observations of H2SO4 and H2O homogeneous nucleation made under atmospherically relevant conditions ([H2SO4] of 106 – 107 cm−3 and 287 K). Our observations show that nucleation takes place at [H2SO4] of 106 – 107 cm−3, as observed in the atmosphere. The slope of nucleation rate (J) vs. [H2SO4] ranges between 4–6, consistent with thermodynamic predictions of neutral H2SO4 clusters, but is higher than those observed in the atmosphere. These results indicate that ternary aerosol precursors are needed to reduce the slope to 1–2 in the atmosphere. This study also discusses the effects of experimental parameters on laboratory observation results, in order to properly interpret the experimental data.

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