The synergistic nucleation of iodous acid and sulfuric acid: A vital mechanism in polluted marine regions

Haotian Zu, Shaobing Zhang, Shuning Li, Ling Liu*, Xiuhui Zhang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The new particle formation occurs frequently in polluted marine regions, which is related to urban pollutants such as sulfuric acid (H2SO4). However, current H2SO4-based nucleation mechanism can seldom explain the concentrations of particles in polluted marine regions. Iodous acid (HIO2) can stabilize iodic acid (HIO3) clusters through its basic property. Nevertheless, whether HIO2 could nucleate with H2SO4 and the corresponding mechanism are still unknown. Using theoretical calculations, we find that HIO2 and H2SO4 can form stable binary clusters through hydrogen bonds, halogen bonds and acid-base proton transfer. The formation pathways of HIO2–H2SO4 contribute over 73% to the total cluster formation rates (J). Moreover, the J of HIO2–H2SO4 is at least two orders of magnitude higher than that of HIO3–H2SO4 and comparable with the critical HIO2–HIO3 system. The HIO2–H2SO4 nucleation may explain some missing fluxes of new particles and expand the H2SO4-based nucleation mechanism in polluted marine areas.

Original languageEnglish
Article number120266
JournalAtmospheric Environment
Volume318
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2024

Keywords

  • Acid-base interaction
  • Cluster formation pathway
  • Cluster formation rate
  • Marine aerosol
  • Sulfuric acid-based nucleation
  • Synergistic nucleation

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