CAREER: Chemistry of the Sulfate Radical Anion in Atmospheric Droplets

在化学系环境化学科学项目的支持下，加州大学戴维斯分校的Tran Nguyen博士正在研究新发现的硫自由基在环境中形成的途径，以及这些反应对影响大气成分和理解人类引起的气候影响的潜在重要性。阮博士和她的研究小组将研究硫自由基与有机化合物的反应如何在与云/雾滴和气溶胶颗粒液态水相关的不同条件下发生变化。作为研究工作的补充，阮博士还将制作环境化学主题的科学教育材料，这些材料将通过广泛的数字平台传播给大学预科学生、教师、在家上学的家长和公众。最后，Nguyen博士和加州大学戴维斯分校的同事们将把开放获取的大气化学数据整合到本科教育中。众所周知，硫酸盐自由基在水相中是一种活性氧化剂，可以形成表面活性化合物，如有机硫酸盐，它也可以影响大气成分和气溶胶与云的相互作用。本研究将研究水溶液颗粒和大块液态水中硫酸盐自由基的光化学生成，并表征其对pH、颗粒液态水含量、溶液离子强度、界面表面积等因素的依赖。此外，硫酸盐自由基与一些环境重要化合物的反应性将被量化，以及产品鉴定，以收集这些反应的机制信息。该项目将为本科生和研究生提供物理化学、定量分析化学、合成有机化学、大气室技术和计算建模的跨学科培训。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With the support of the Environmental Chemical Sciences Program in the Division of Chemistry, Dr. Tran Nguyen of the University of California at Davis is studying newly discovered pathways by which sulfur radicals can be formed in the environment and the potential importance of these reactions for influencing the composition of the atmosphere and understanding human-induced climate impacts. Dr. Nguyen and her research group will study how the reactions of sulfur radicals with organic compounds may change under different conditions relevant to cloud/fog droplets and the liquid water of aerosol particles. Complementing the research efforts, Dr. Nguyen will also produce accessible scientific education materials on environmental chemistry topics that will be disseminated via broad digital platforms to pre-college students, teachers, homeschooling parents, and the general public. Finally, Dr. Nguyen and colleagues at UC Davis will integrate open-access atmospheric chemistry data into undergraduate education.The sulfate radical is known to be a reactive oxidant in the aqueous phase that can form surface-active compounds such as organosulfates, which could also affect atmospheric composition and aerosol-cloud interactions. This research will investigate the photochemical production of sulfate radicals in aqueous particles and bulk liquid water, and characterizes its dependence on pH, particle liquid water content, solution ionic strength, interfacial surface area, and other factors. In addition, the reactivity of sulfate radicals with a number of environmentally-important compounds will be quantified, alongside product identification to glean mechanistic information for these reactions. This project will provide interdisciplinary training to undergraduate and graduate students in physical chemistry, quantitative analytical chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, atmospheric chamber techniques, and computational modeling.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.