Modeling the Binding Free Energy of Large Atmospheric Sulfuric Acid-Ammonia Clusters

Sulfuric acid and ammonia are believed to account for a large fraction of new-particle formation in the atmosphere. However, it remains unclear how small clusters grow to larger sizes, eventually ending up as stable aerosol particles. Here we present the largest sulfuric acid-ammonia clusters studied to date using quantum chemical methods by calculating the binding free energies of (SA) (A) clusters, with n up to 20. Based on benchmark calculations, we apply the B97-3c//GFN1-xTB level of theory to calculate the cluster structures and thermochemical parameters. We find that the cluster structures drastically evolve at larger sizes. We identify that an ammonium ion is fully coordinated in the core of the cluster at n = 7, and at n = 13 we see the emergence of the first fully coordinated bisulfate ion. We identify multiple ammonium and bisulfate ions that are embedded in the core of the cluster structure at n = 19. The binding free energy per acid-base pair levels out around n = 8-10, indicating that at a certain point the thermochemistry of the clusters converges toward a constant value.