Low-volatility poly-oxygenates in the OH-initiated atmospheric oxidation of α-pinene: impact of non-traditional peroxyl radical chemistry

Following new insights on non-traditional peroxyl radical chemistry, we present an update to our earlier OH-initiated alpha-pinene degradation mechanism (Peeters et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2001, 3, 5489), incorporating ring closure reactions and a fast H-shift isomerization in certain key peroxyl and oxy radical intermediates. These changes, affecting only a single branch of the comprehensive mechanism and based on extensive quantum-chemical and theoretical kinetic calculations, show significant formation, approximately 20% overall, of poly-oxygenated (hydro)peroxides in atmospheric conditions. These low-volatility compounds are expected to have a significant impact on aerosol formation, and are believed to be the high-mass product compounds observed in available experimental work. The proposed changes also affect the predicted acetone yield, matching the experimental data closely.