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Atmosphere
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Recent Advances in Photochemistry and Spectroscopy of Atmospheric Aerosols
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Recent Advances in Photochemistry and Spectroscopy of Atmospheric Aerosols

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Aerosols".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 12 January 2026 | Viewed by 487

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Aaron W. Harrison

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Austin College, Sherman, TX 75090, USA
Interests: aerosol; photochemistry; spectroscopy; fluorescence
Prof. Dr. Marcelo Guzman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
Interests: environmental photochemistry; interfacial oxidations; environmental monitoring; prebiotic chemistry; photocatalytic CO2 reduction; environmental chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, titled “Recent Advances in Photochemistry and Spectroscopy of Atmospheric Aerosols” will explore the complex and dynamic processes of atmospheric aging driven by photochemistry. This aging process significantly influences the chemical composition and properties of aerosols. Despite their critical environmental roles, many aspects of these processes remain poorly understood.

This issue focuses on aerosol photochemistry and the photochemical oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a key process leading to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and brown carbon (BrC). SOA and BrC not only affect air quality but also have significant implications for climate change, due to their impact on radiative forcing. The issue seeks to address gaps in our understanding of these phenomena.

Articles will focus on mechanisms of photochemical reactions in the atmosphere, including radical reactions and the role of excited states in sensitizing these reactions. In addition, research on the spectroscopic characteristics and optical properties of aerosol components will provide insights into their chemical composition and the changes they undergo due to photochemical aging. Various spectroscopic techniques will be used to identify and quantify the molecular components of SOA and BrC.

By understanding the photochemistry and spectroscopy of aerosols, this Special Issue aims to elucidate their broader environmental impacts, particularly on air quality and climate. This includes examining how changes in aerosol composition affect their ability to absorb and scatter sunlight, thereby influencing radiative forcing and climate dynamics. Through these contributions, this Special Issue aims to advance the scientific understanding of aerosol photochemistry and its environmental implications.

Dr. Aaron W. Harrison
Prof. Dr. Marcelo Guzman
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • photochemistry
  • brown carbon
  • secondary organic aerosol
  • particulate matter
  • spectroscopy

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1814 KiB  
Article
Atmospheric Photochemical Oxidation of 4-Nitroimidazole
by Nayan Kondapalli, Oliver Cernero, Aaron Welch and Aaron W. Harrison
Atmosphere 2025, 16(5), 624; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16050624 - 20 May 2025
Viewed by 32
Abstract
Nitro-functionalized heterocycles, such as nitroimidazoles, are significant environmental contaminants and have been identified as components of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) and biomass-burning organic aerosols (BBOA). Their strong absorption in the near-UV (300–400 nm) makes photochemistry a critical aspect of their atmospheric processing. This [...] Read more.
Nitro-functionalized heterocycles, such as nitroimidazoles, are significant environmental contaminants and have been identified as components of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) and biomass-burning organic aerosols (BBOA). Their strong absorption in the near-UV (300–400 nm) makes photochemistry a critical aspect of their atmospheric processing. This study investigates both the direct near-UV photochemistry and hydroxyl radical (OH) oxidation of 4-nitroimidazole (4-NI). The atmospheric photolysis rate of 4-NI in the near-UV (300–400 nm) was found to be J4-NI = 4.3 × 10−5 (±0.8) s−1, corresponding to an atmospheric lifetime of 391 (±77) min under bulk aqueous conditions simulating aqueous aerosols and cloud water. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis following irradiation indicated loss of the nitro group, while NO elimination was observed as a more minor channel in direct photolysis. In addition, the rate constant for the reaction of 4-NI with OH radicals, kNI+OH, was determined to be 2.9 × 109 (±0.6) M−1s−1. Following OH oxidation, ESI-MS results show the emergence of a dominant peak at m/z = 130 amu, consistent with hydroxylation of 4-NI. Computational results indicate that OH radical addition occurs with the lowest barrier at the C2 and C5 positions of 4-NI. The combined results from direct photolysis and OH oxidation experiments suggest that OH-mediated degradation is likely to dominate under aerosol-phase conditions, where OH radical concentrations are elevated, while direct photolysis is expected to be the primary loss mechanism in high-humidity environments and bulk cloud water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Photochemistry and Spectroscopy of Atmospheric Aerosols)
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