This work explores the effect of environmental conditions on the photodegradation rates of atmospherically relevant, photolabile, organic molecules embedded in a film of secondary organic material (SOM). Three types of SOM were studied: α-pinene/O3 SOM (PSOM), limonene/O3 SOM (LSOM), and aged limonene/O3 obtained by exposure of LSOM to ammonia (brown LSOM). PSOM and LSOM were impregnated with 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP), an atmospherically relevant molecule that photodegrades faster than either PSOM or LSOM alone, to serve as a probe of SOM matrix effects on photochemistry. Brown LSOM contains an unidentified chromophore that absorbs strongly at 510 nm and photobleaches upon irradiation. This chromophore served as a probe molecule for the brown LSOM experiments. In all experiments, either the temperature or relative humidity (RH) surrounding the SOM films was varied. The extent of photochemical reaction in the samples was monitored using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. For all three model systems examined, the observed photodegradation rates were slower at lower temperatures and lower RH, conditions that make SOM more viscous. Additionally, the activation energies for photodegradation of each system were positively correlated with the viscosity of the SOM matrix as measured in poke-flow experiments. These activation energies were calculated to be 50, 24, and 17 kJ mol(-1) for 2,4-DNP in PSOM, 2,4-DNP in LSOM, and the chromophore in brown LSOM, respectively, and PSOM was found to be the most viscous of the three. These results suggest that the increased viscosity is hindering the motion of the molecules in SOM and is slowing down their respective photochemical reactions.

This work explores the effect of the environment on the rate of photolysis of 2,4-dinitrophenol (24-DNP), an important environmental toxin. In stark contrast to the slow photolysis of 24-DNP in an aqueous solution, the photolysis rate is increased by more than an order of magnitude for 24-DNP dissolved in 1-octanol or embedded in secondary organic material (SOM) produced by ozonolysis of α-pinene. Lowering the temperature decreased the photolysis rate of 24-DNP in SOM much more significantly than that of 24-DNP in octanol, with effective activation energies of 53 kJ/mol and 12 kJ/mol, respectively. We discuss the possibility that the increasing viscosity of the SOM matrix constrains the molecular motion, thereby suppressing the hydrogen atom transfer reaction to the photoexcited 24-DNP. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of a significant effect of the matrix, and possibly viscosity, on the rate of an atmospheric photochemical reaction within SOM. It suggests that rates of photochemical processes in organic aerosols will depend on both relative humidity and temperature and thus altitude. The results further suggest that photochemistry in SOM may play a key role in transformations of atmospheric organics. For example, 24-DNP and other nitro-aromatic compounds should readily photodegrade in organic particulate matter, which has important consequences for predicting their environmental fates and impacts.aerosol aging | particle viscosity | organic photochemistry