Changing aerosol chemistry is redefining HONO sources

Yusheng Zhang, Yongchun Liu (), Wei Ma (), Chenjie Hua, Feixue Zheng, Chaofan Lian, Weigang Wang (), Men Xia, Zhixin Zhao, Jinwen Li, Jiali Xie, Zongcheng Wang, Yuzheng Wang, Xin Chen, Ying Zhang, Zemin Feng, Chao Yan, Biwu Chu, Wei Du, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Federico Bianchi, Tuukka Petäjä, Douglas Worsnop and Markku Kulmala
Additional contact information
Yusheng Zhang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Yongchun Liu: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Wei Ma: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Chenjie Hua: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Feixue Zheng: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Chaofan Lian: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Weigang Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Men Xia: University of Helsinki
Zhixin Zhao: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Jinwen Li: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Jiali Xie: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Zongcheng Wang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Yuzheng Wang: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Xin Chen: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Ying Zhang: Nanjing University
Zemin Feng: North China University of Science and Technology
Chao Yan: University of Helsinki
Biwu Chu: University of Helsinki
Wei Du: University of Helsinki
Veli-Matti Kerminen: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Federico Bianchi: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Tuukka Petäjä: Beijing University of Chemical Technology
Douglas Worsnop: University of Helsinki
Markku Kulmala: Beijing University of Chemical Technology

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Heterogeneous reactions of NO2 on particulate matter have been considered an important source of HONO (Nitrous acid) in the troposphere, whereas its contribution is controversial due to the lack of uptake coefficient of NO2 (γNO2) on the surfaces of ambient particulate matter (PM). Here we investigate the the γNO2 to form HONO and its evolution based on long-term comprehensive field observations (2019–2023) in Beijing and a random forest model with Shapley additive explanations. The γNO2 on ambient PM is on the order of 10−6, decreasing markedly from 3.07 ± 5.99 × 10−6 in 2019 to 1.43 ± 3.22 × 10−6 in 2023. This decrease is driven by the increase in aerosol pH, linked to increased ratio of NH4NO3 to (NH4)2SO4, resulting from an unbalanced desulfurization and denitrification. This study implies that the role of the heterogeneous reaction of NO2 on aerosol surfaces in HONO production is declining in Beijing, providing valuable insights into the atmospheric chemistry in urban environments.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60614-7 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-60614-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60614-7

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().