文摘
The prevailing treatment of secondary organic aerosol formation in atmospheric models is based on the assumption of instantaneous gas鈥損article equilibrium for the condensing species, yet compelling experimental evidence indicates that organic aerosols can exhibit the properties of highly viscous, semisolid particles, for which gas鈥損article equilibrium may be achieved slowly. The approach to gas鈥損article equilibrium partitioning is controlled by gas-phase diffusion, interfacial transport, and particle-phase diffusion. Here we evaluate the controlling processes and the time scale to achieve gas鈥損article equilibrium as a function of the volatility of the condensing species, its surface accommodation coefficient, and its particle-phase diffusivity. For particles in the size range of typical atmospheric organic aerosols (鈭?0鈥?00 nm), the time scale to establish gas鈥損article equilibrium is generally governed either by interfacial accommodation or particle-phase diffusion. The rate of approach to equilibrium varies, depending on whether the bulk vapor concentration is constant, typical of an open system, or decreasing as a result of condensation into the particles, typical of a closed system.