The kinetic reactions of 1,2-benzenediol (catechol) and 2-methoxyphenol (guaiacol) with ozone were studied in a simulation chamber (8 m(3)) under dark conditions. The rate coefficients were measured at 294 ± 2 K, atmospheric pressure and dry conditions (relative humidity, RH < 1%), except for 1,2-benzenediol where they were also measured as a function of relative humidity (RH = 1-80%). The concentrations of organic compounds were followed by a PTR-ToF-MS for a continuous monitoring of gas-phase species. The O3 rate coefficients were obtained using both the pseudo-first-order and relative rate methods. The values (in cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1)) determined for catechol and guaiacol under dry conditions are (13.5 ± 1.1) × 10(-18) and (0.40 ± 0.31) × 10(-18), respectively. The rate coefficient of catechol was found to be independent of RH below 20% and above 60%, whereas for RH between 20% and 60% it decreases with increasing RH. The determined rate coefficients have been used to evaluate the atmospheric lifetime of each compound with respect to O3. To our knowledge, this study represents the first determination of the ozone rate coefficient with guaiacol and is also the first kinetic investigation for the influence of the relative humidity on the oxygenated aromatic ozonolysis.

Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) synchrotron analyses supplemented by density functional theory (DFT) anharmonic calculations have been undertaken to study the fundamental vibrational signatures of guaiacol and syringol, two methoxyphenol compounds found at the highest concentrations in fresh wood smoke and precursors of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) affecting the radiative balance and chemistry of the atmosphere. Nitroderivatives of these two compounds have also been studied experimentally for nitroguaiacol and theoretically for nitrosyringol. All the active fundamental vibrational bands have been assigned and compared to available gas phase measurements, providing a vibrational database of the main precursors for the analysis of SOA produced by atmospheric oxidation of methoxyphenols. In addition, the SOA formed in an atmospheric simulation chamber from the OH reaction with guaiacol and syringol were analyzed using the ATR-FTIR synchrotron spectroscopy and their hygroscopic properties were also investigated. The vibrational study confirms that nitroguaiacol and nitrosyringol are the main oxidation products of methoxyphenols by OH and are key intermediates in SOA production. The hydration experiments highlight the hydrophilic and hydrophobic characters of nitrosyringol and nitroguaiacol, respectively.

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