Phototransformation rate constants of PAHs associated with soot particles

Photodegradation is a key process governing the residence time and fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in particles, both in the atmosphere and after deposition. We have measured photodegradation rate constants of PAHs in bulk deposits of soot particles illuminated with simulated sunlight. The photodegradation rate constants at the surface (k(p)(0)), the effective diffusion coefficients (D(eff)), and the light penetration depths (z(0.5)) for PAHs on soot layers of variable thickness were determined by fitting experimental data with a model of coupled photolysis and diffusion. The overall disappearance rates of irradiated low molecular weight PAHs (with 2-3 rings) on soot particles were influenced by fast photodegradation and fast diffusion kinetics, while those of high molecular weight PAHs (with 4 or more rings) were apparently controlled by either the combination of slow photodegradation and slow diffusion kinetics or by very slow diffusion kinetics alone. The value of z(0.5) is more sensitive to the soot layer thickness than the k(p)(0) value. As the thickness of the soot layer increases, the z(0.5) values increase, but the k(p)(0) values are almost constant. The effective diffusion coefficients calculated from dark experiments are generally higher than those from the model fitting method for illumination experiments. Due to the correlation between k(p)(0) and z(0.5) in thinner layers, D(eff) should be estimated by an independent method for better accuracy. Despite some limitations of the model used in this study, the fitted parameters were useful for describing empirical results of photodegradation of soot-associated PAHs.