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A mechanistic understanding of the varying yields of highly oxygenated organic molecules

Yang, Liwen ; Nie, Wei ; Yan, Chao ; Ehn, Mikael ; Liu, Yuliang ; Roldin, Pontus LU ; Qi, Ximeng ; Kerminen, Veli Matti ; Donahue, Neil M. and Worsnop, Douglas , et al. (2025) In Nature Communications 17(1).
Abstract

Highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOM) play a crucial role in the formation and growth of atmospheric particles, thereby influencing air quality and climate. A comprehensive understanding of HOM formation, particularly an accurate quantification of their yields, is essential to constrain the climate and health impacts of aerosols. Previous studies often reported constant HOM yields as averages, overlooking nuanced changes. Here we revisit several experimental datasets and demonstrate that HOM yields from single volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can vary by more than a factor of 3, depending on numerous parameters affecting peroxy radicals (RO2) autoxidation. Additionally, we propose a concept of RO2 oxidation... (More)

Highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOM) play a crucial role in the formation and growth of atmospheric particles, thereby influencing air quality and climate. A comprehensive understanding of HOM formation, particularly an accurate quantification of their yields, is essential to constrain the climate and health impacts of aerosols. Previous studies often reported constant HOM yields as averages, overlooking nuanced changes. Here we revisit several experimental datasets and demonstrate that HOM yields from single volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can vary by more than a factor of 3, depending on numerous parameters affecting peroxy radicals (RO2) autoxidation. Additionally, we propose a concept of RO2 oxidation fraction, which provides a unified explanation for variations in the HOM yields. Our findings indicate that applying the laboratory-derived HOM yields to the interpretation of ambient data may lead to substantial biases, especially when VOC and oxidant concentrations in the laboratory were higher than those in the real atmosphere.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Nature Communications
volume
17
issue
1
article number
302
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • scopus:105027137008
  • pmid:41365891
ISSN
2041-1723
DOI
10.1038/s41467-025-67007-w
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025.
id
7fde615b-bec5-4d83-9f8c-475bdd0634e5
date added to LUP
2026-03-09 15:40:31
date last changed
2026-07-01 11:17:08
@article{7fde615b-bec5-4d83-9f8c-475bdd0634e5,
  abstract     = {{<p>Highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOM) play a crucial role in the formation and growth of atmospheric particles, thereby influencing air quality and climate. A comprehensive understanding of HOM formation, particularly an accurate quantification of their yields, is essential to constrain the climate and health impacts of aerosols. Previous studies often reported constant HOM yields as averages, overlooking nuanced changes. Here we revisit several experimental datasets and demonstrate that HOM yields from single volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can vary by more than a factor of 3, depending on numerous parameters affecting peroxy radicals (RO<sub>2</sub>) autoxidation. Additionally, we propose a concept of RO<sub>2</sub> oxidation fraction, which provides a unified explanation for variations in the HOM yields. Our findings indicate that applying the laboratory-derived HOM yields to the interpretation of ambient data may lead to substantial biases, especially when VOC and oxidant concentrations in the laboratory were higher than those in the real atmosphere.</p>}},
  author       = {{Yang, Liwen and Nie, Wei and Yan, Chao and Ehn, Mikael and Liu, Yuliang and Roldin, Pontus and Qi, Ximeng and Kerminen, Veli Matti and Donahue, Neil M. and Worsnop, Douglas and Kulmala, Markku and Ding, Aijun}},
  issn         = {{2041-1723}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Nature Communications}},
  title        = {{A mechanistic understanding of the varying yields of highly oxygenated organic molecules}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67007-w}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s41467-025-67007-w}},
  volume       = {{17}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}