Kinetic multilayer models for surface chemistry in indoor environments

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Atmospheric Science
• Indoor Air Quality

Background:

• Indoor surface interactions significantly impact indoor air quality due to high surface-to-volume ratios.
• Kinetic multilayer models are essential for simulating gas-surface interactions, including partitioning, diffusion, and multiphase chemistry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide detailed instructions and code for a series of kinetic multilayer models.
• To enable users to simulate multiphase chemistry and interactions relevant to indoor environments.
• To offer insights into gas-surface reactions and their impact on indoor air quality.

Main Methods:

• Development of several kinetic multilayer models: K2-SURF, KM-BL, KM-FILM, and KM-SUB-Skin-Clothing.
• Incorporation of an effective mass accommodation coefficient to account for bulk diffusion limitations.
• Provision of model instructions, code annotations, and example sensitivity simulations.

Main Results:

• The study details a suite of kinetic multilayer models applicable to indoor surface chemistry.
• The models address phenomena like volatile organic compound adsorption, boundary layer diffusion, and organic film formation.
• An effective mass accommodation coefficient is introduced to improve simulation accuracy.

Conclusions:

• The provided models and code empower researchers to analyze indoor air quality by simulating complex gas-surface interactions.
• Users can adapt the codes for experimental data analysis, gain mechanistic insights, and explore conditions beyond direct measurement.
• This work facilitates a deeper understanding of multiphase chemistry in indoor environments.