The synergistic effect of organic and inorganic sulfonic acids promotes new particle formation

New particle formation (NPF) represents a significant source of aerosol particles in the atmosphere; however, the NPF mechanisms remain uncertain, hindering the understanding and assessment of its environmental effects. Hence, we investigated the nucleation mechanisms in multicomponent systems including two inorganic sulfonic acids (ISAs), two organic sulfonic acids (OSAs), and dimethylamine (DMA) by combining quantum chemical (QC) calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and evaluated the comprehensive effect of ISAs and OSAs on DMA-driven NPF. The QC results showed that the (Acid)2(DMA)0–1 clusters were strongly stable, and the (ISA)2(DMA)1 clusters exhibited higher stability than the (OSA)2(DMA)1 clusters because ISAs (sulfuric and sulfamic acids) provided more H-bonds and stronger proton transfer than OSAs (methanesulfonic and ethanesulfonic acids). ISAs readily engaged in dimer formation, whereas the stability of trimer clusters was mainly regulated by the synergistic effects of ISAs and OSAs. OSAs participated in cluster growth earlier than ISAs. Our results revealed that ISAs promote cluster formation, whereas OSAs facilitate the growth of clusters. The synergistic effect of ISAs and OSAs should be further investigated in areas with high [OSAs]: [ISAs].