Cloud condensation nuclei activity of isoprene secondary organic aerosol

1 This work explores the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity of isoprene secondary organic aerosol (SOA), likely a significant source of global organic particulate matter and CCN, produced from the oxidation with OH from HONO/HOOH photolysis in a temperature-controlled SOA chamber. CCN concentrations, activation diameter, and droplet growth kinetic information were monitored as a function of supersaturation (from 0.3% to 1.5%) for several hours using a cylindrical continuous-flow streamwise thermal gradient CCN counter connected to a scanning mobility particle sizer. The initial SOA concentrations ranged from 2 to 30 μg m−3 and presented CCN activity similar to monoterpene SOA with an activation diameter of 35 nm for 1.5% supersaturation and 72 nm for 0.6% supersaturation. The CCN activity improved slightly in some experiments as the SOA aged chemically and did not depend significantly on the level of NOx during the SOA production. The measured activation diameters correspond to a hygroscopicity parameter κ value of 0.12, similar to κ values of 0.1 ± 0.04 reported for monoterpene SOA. Analysis of the water-soluble carbon extracted from filter samples of the SOA suggest that it has a κ of 0.2–0.3 implying an average molar mass between 90 and 150 g mol−1 (assuming a zero and 5% surface tension reduction with respect to water, respectively). These findings are consistent with known oxidation products of isoprene. Using threshold droplet growth analysis, the CCN activation kinetics of isoprene SOA was determined to be similar to pure ammonium sulfate aerosol.