Detailed studies of the chemistry of alkoxy and alkylperoxy radicals in the multiphase oxidation of organic species

化学部（CHE）的环境化学科学（ECS）计划和大气和地球空间科学部（AGS）的大气化学计划将支持马萨诸塞州理工学院（MIT）的Jesse Kroll教授的研究项目。 Kroll教授和他的学生将使用麻省理工学院的环境室和劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室（LBNL）先进光源的流动反应器研究环境中有机物质的氧化机制。这项研究的一个高度创新的特点是通过自由基前体如烷基碘和烷基亚硝酸盐的光解直接和受控地形成烷基过氧基和烷氧基自由基。过氧烷基和烷氧基自由基是与大气有机气溶胶的形成和演变直接相关的关键中间体，这些过程对全球气候和人类健康至关重要。该项目将大大提高我们对氧化机制的理解，这些机制对一些关键的环境问题至关重要，例如污染物的降解和次级物种的产生，从而改善对它们的速率和环境影响的预测。特别是，对大气有机气溶胶形成和演变的化学基础的了解将为气溶胶-气候和气溶胶-健康相互作用的政策提供信息，这是世界各地决策者面临的两个主要环境问题。这项研究将为麻省理工学院的研究生和本科生提供极好的机会，从事环境化学科学的前沿研究项目。

The Environmental Chemical Sciences (ECS) program of the Division of Chemistry (CHE) and the Atmospheric Chemistry program of the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) will support the research project of Prof. Jesse Kroll of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Prof. Kroll and his students will study the mechanisms of oxidation of organic species in the environment using an environmental chamber at MIT and a flow reactor at the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). A highly innovative feature of the study is the direct and controlled formation of alkylperoxy and alkoxy radicals by the photolysis of radical precursors like alkyl iodides and alkyl nitrites . Alkylperoxy and alkoxy radicals are key intermediates that are directly relevant to the formation and evolution of atmospheric organic aerosol, processes of central importance to global climate and human health. The project will greatly improve our understanding of the oxidation mechanisms central to a number of key environmental issues, such as the degradation of pollutants and the production of secondary species, leading to the improved prediction of their rates and environmental impacts. In particular, the insights into the chemistry underlying the formation and evolution of atmospheric organic aerosol will inform policy on aerosol-climate and aerosol-health interactions, two of the major environmental issues confronting policymakers around the world. The study will provide excellent opportunities to graduate and undergraduate students at MIT to work on a cutting edge research project in environmental chemical sciences.