NSF Award
2305091
With support from the Environmental Chemical Sciences Program in the Division of Chemistry, Jiajue Chai at the State University of New York - College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF), Meredith Hastings at Brown University, and Emily Fischer at Colorado State University along with students, postdocs and research scientists will investigate peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), an important secondary air pollutant. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are key atmospheric pollutants that determine formation of secondary pollutants such as ozone and secondary aerosols, which can have an adverse impact on human health, ecosystems and climate. In polluted air, PANs form as the most important temporary reservoirs for NOx. PAN can be transported short and long distances in cold air masses, and when the temperature warms, it decomposes to reform NO2 and an acylperoxy radical, for example, thus influencing NOx budgets on a global scale. This project aims to develop a new method to fingerprint peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) from various sources and chemistry pathways and to improve the understanding of PAN budget in the atmosphere and its influence on air quality and climate. This project will also support graduate and undergraduate student researchers and help to build their core skills necessary for work in the fields of analytical and environmental chemistry. Results from this project will be incorporated into several environmental science courses across the three universities, as well as K-8 education in local communities.<br/><br/>An upgraded PAN generation system and gas chromatography technique will be used with a new method for concentrating PAN in the laboratory for the purpose of measuring the isotopic composition of PAN with a particular focus on oxygen and nitrogen isotopes. The isotopic analysis of reactive nitrogen species in the atmosphere has proven to give new insights into source apportionment and chemical pathways. Additionally, interference of PAN with current NOx and NO2 collection techniques for isotopic analysis developed by the PIs will also be investigated to better quantify these tracers in the atmosphere. This project has the potential to make a significant contribution toward better quantification of the reactive nitrogen budget in the atmosphere and toward the establishment of improved field-ready techniques for future application in the environment.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
