Hygroscopic Behavior of Multicomponent Aerosols Involving NaCl and Dicarboxylic Acids

Atmospheric aerosols are usually complex mixtures of inorganic and organic compounds. The hygroscopicity of mixed particles is closely related to their chemical composition and interactions between components, which is still poorly understood. In this study, the hygroscopic properties of submicron particles composed of NaCl and dicarboxylic acids including oxalic acid (OA), malonic acid (MA), and succinic acid (SA) with various mass ratios are investigated with a hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA) system. Both the Zdanovskii–Stokes–Robinson (ZSR) method and extended aerosol inorganics model (E-AIM) are applied to predict the water uptake behaviors of sodium chloride/dicarboxylic acid mixtures. For NaCl/OA mixed particles, the measured growth factors were significantly lower than predictions from the model methods, indicating a change in particle composition caused by chloride depletion. The hygroscopic growth of NaCl/MA particles was well described by E-AIM, and that of NaCl/SA particles was dependent upon mixing ratio. Compared with model predictions, it was determined that water uptake of the NaCl/OA mixture could be enhanced and could be closer to the predictions by addition of levoglucosan or malonic acid, which retained water even at low relative humidity (RH), leading to inhibition of HCl evaporation during dehydration. These results demonstrate that the coexisting hygroscopic species have a strong influence on the phase state of particles, thus affecting chemical interactions between inorganic and organic compounds as well as the overall hygroscopicity of mixed particles.