Photooxidation of atmospheric alcohols on laboratory proxies for mineral dust

We have used a novel photochemical Knudsen cell reactor to investigate the uptake and phototransformation of some atmospherically important trace organics on TiO(2) and TiO(2)-SiO(2) mixed films. Illumination of TiO(2) films led to an enhanced uptake of isopropanol and n-propanol and the concurrent production of gas-phase acetone and propionaldehyde, respectively, with high efficiency. Acetone production from isopropanol on illuminated TiO(2) films displayed a significant enhancement in the presence of cosorbed AgNO(3) or KNO(3). Uptake of cyclohexene by TiO(2) films required the presence of both nitrate anion and light. The wavelength and substrate (TiO(2) vs SiO(2)) dependence of the nitrate-induced enhancement in uptake indicates that it was not caused by direct photolysis of nitrate anion. We propose a 2-fold role for nitrate anion in the present experiments: first, as an electron trapping agent that activates the TiO(2) surface toward photooxidation; second, as suggested by our results for cyclohexene, as a source of reactive nitrate radical at the TiO(2) surface. These observations suggest that mineral dust containing photoactive components may catalyze the transformation of photochemically inactive organic compounds into species that absorb in the actinic region.