From volatile to non-volatile in sub second timescales

Oxygenated hydrocarbons play a key role in forming atmospheric secondary organic aerosol. Most of them form in the gas-phase by photo-oxidation of abundant volatile precursor vapors. A little over a decade ago, a process called autoxidation was identified as an especially efficient gas-phase route to very low volatile material that drives secondary aerosol production. In the process several oxygen molecules are rapidly infused to a molecular structure, increasing its mass while also forming several good hydrogen bond donor and acceptor sites, and consequently plummeting its saturation vapor pressure. With a decade of research, it has become apparent how many of the key reactions occur exceedingly fast. By a single oxidant attack, a rapid chain of reactions commences that transforms a completely volatile hydrocarbon into a highly oxygenated and extremely low volatile aerosol precursor, often even in sub-second timescales. In the presentation I will be talking about the importance of this newly found chemical regime as well as provide some examples of our recent research concerning rapid functionalization through gas-phase autoxidation reactions.