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Updated: Jan 15, 2026
Automated, High-resolution Mobile Collection System for the Nitrogen Isotopic Analysis of NOx
Published on: December 20, 2016
Simultaneous Reduction and Oxidation of NO2 on Water Microdroplets Provides Previously Unknown Pathways to the
Huan Chen1, Xu Yuan1, Jianze Zhang1
1College of Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Centre, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Biosensing and Molecular Recognition, Frontiers Science Centre for New Organic Matter, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
Abstract:
HONO and HNO3 are important atmospheric species, yet their formation pathways in the atmosphere remain uncertain. In this study, we report the simultaneous formation of HONO and HNO3 at the air-water interface of water microdroplets in the presence of trace amounts of NO2. Water microdroplets were generated either in ambient air or in a glovebox where the gas content could be precisely controlled. The products generated by the microdroplets and surrounding gas were directly analyzed with mass spectrometers. Our results indicated that NO2 gas could be reduced by an electron to form NO2-, which was further protonated to yield HONO, or could be oxidized by a hydroxyl radical (·OH) to form HNO3. Electrons and ·OH were produced by a strong electric field that facilitated OH- dissociation at the air-water interface of the microdroplets. Tandem mass spectrometry, isotope labeling, and chemical ionization methods confirmed the formation of neutral HONO and HNO3. Our results provide a previously unknown pathway for the formation of HONO and HNO3 in the troposphere.
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