Observation of Organic Molecules at the Aerosol Surface

Organic molecules at the gas-particle interface of atmospheric aerosols influence the heterogeneous chemistry of the aerosol and impact climate properties. The ability to probe the molecules at the aerosol particle surface in situ therefore is important but has been proven challenging. We report the first successful observations of molecules at the surface of laboratory-generated aerosols suspended in air using the surface-sensitive technique second harmonic light scattering (SHS). As a demonstration, we detect trans-4-[4-(dibutylamino)styryl]-1-methylpyridinium iodide and determine its population and adsorption free energy at the surface of submicron aerosol particles. This work illustrates a new and versatile experimental approach for studying how aerosol composition may affect the atmospheric properties.