The Significant Contribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Nitrogen Heterocycles to Light Absorption in the Winter North China Plain

Yi Cheng, Junfang Mao, Zhe Bai, Wei Zhang, Linyuan Zhang, Hui Chen, Lina Wang, Ling Li () and Jianmin Chen ()
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Yi Cheng: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Junfang Mao: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Zhe Bai: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Wei Zhang: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Linyuan Zhang: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Hui Chen: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Lina Wang: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Ling Li: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Jianmin Chen: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-12

Abstract: By quantifying the absorption of black carbon (BC), brown carbon (BrC) and the lensing effect, we found that BrC dominates the total absorption at 450 nm, and the largest absorption contribution proportion of BrC could reach 78.3% during heavy pollution. The average absorption enhancement (E abs ) at 530 nm was only 1.38, indicating that BC is not coated well here. The average value of the absorption Ångstrom exponent (AAE) between 450 nm and 530 nm was 5.3, suggesting a high concentration of BrC in Wangdu. CHN+ was the greatest contributor to the light absorption of molecules detected in MSOC with a proportion of 12.2–22.4%, in which the polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles (PANHs) were the dominant compounds. The C 6 H 5 NO 3 and its homologous series accounted for 3.0–11.3%, and the C 15 H 9 N and its homologous series, including one C 16 H 11 N and three C 17 H 13 N compounds, accounted for 5.1–12.3%. The absorption of these PANHs is comparable to that of nitro–aromatics, which should attract more attention to the impact of climate radiative forcing.

Keywords: brown carbon; black carbon; light absorption enhancement; organic aerosols; polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles; coal combustion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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