Photodegradation of six polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was studied in liquids composed of actual organic aerosol constituents using a photochemical turntable reactor. All six PAHs exhibited more rapid decay in a liquid mixture of methoxyphenols, an abundant class of compounds present in wood smoke, than in hexadecane, which is representative of aliphatic hydrocarbons abundant in diesel soot and automobile exhaust. The most rapid decay was observed for benz [a] anthracene and benzo[a]pyrene in both hexadecane and the methoxyphenols. Benzo [o] pyrene decay was approximately seven times faster in the methoxyphenol mixture than in hexadecane. The results indicate that the organic composition of atmospheric particulate matter can influence PAH decay.

SnS2/SnS p–n heterojunctions with an accumulation layer were rationally designed to achieve ultrasensitive NO2 detection at room temperature.

Room temperature bright white upconversion (UC) luminescence in Yb3+–Tm3+–Er3+ ions doped Y2O3 nanocrystals was obtained under single-wavelength diode laser excitation of 976nm. The white light consists of the blue, green, and red UC radiations which correspond to the transitions G41→H63 of Tm3+, H11∕22∕S3∕24→I15∕24, and F9∕24→I15∕24 of Er3+ ions, respectively. The UC mechanisms were proposed based on spectral, kinetic, and pump power dependence analyses. The calculated color coordinates display that white light can be achieved in a wide range of pumping powers, which promises their potential applications in the field of displays, lasers, photonics, and biomedicine.

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