Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 8 5 2008 10.5194/acpd-8-17237-2008 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/17237/2008/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/17237/2008/acpd-8-17237-2008.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/17237/2008/acpd-8-17237-2008.pdf 17237 17256 2008-09-11 The Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) properties of 2-methyltetrols and C3–C6 polyols from osmolality and surface tension measurements S. Ekström B. Nozière barbara.noziere@itm.su.se H.-C. Hansson Department of Meteorology, Stockholm Univ., Stockholm, Sweden Department of Applied Environmental Science (ITM), Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden now at: Department of Applied Environmental Science (ITM), Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden A significant fraction of the organic material in aerosols is made of highly soluble compounds such as sugars (mono- and polysaccharides) and polyols, including the 2-methyltetrols, methylerythritol and methyltreitol. The high solubility of these compounds has brought the question of their potentially high CCN efficiency. For the 2-methyltetrols, this would have important implications for cloud formation at global scale because they are thought to be produced by the atmospheric oxidation of isoprene. To investigate this question, the complete Köhler curves for C3–C6 polyols and the 2-methyltetrols have been determined experimentally from osmolality and surface tension measurements. 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