Addition of bisulfite ions to methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein relevant to atmospheric processes

Methacrolein and methyl vinyl ketone are highly reactive carbonyls that play a pivotal role in the formation of secondary organic aerosols in the Earth’s atmosphere. Both carbonyls are the major products of isoprene oxidation. We show that among the atmospheric sinks of methacrolein and methyl vinyl ketone, the aqueous-phase addition of bisulfite anions to their molecules can be relevant under polluted conditions with the increased presence of sulfur dioxide. We demonstrate that aqueous-phase reactions of methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein with bisulfite anions lead to the formation of primary and secondary organic hydroxysulfonates which currently are not included in the atmospheric chemistry modelling, but can be relevant in mechanisms explaining the formation and growth of the secondary organic aerosols from atmospheric carbonyls. The rate constants for all aqueous-phase reactions involved were determined. The primary addition of bisulfite anions to methacrolein was found significantly faster than that to methyl vinyl ketone, with rate constants kMAC1f = 8 and kMVK1f = 0.18 mol –1 dm s at room temperatures, respectively. The rate constant for the bisulfite addition to methacrolein was ten times faster than reported in the literature. The kinetic and mass spectrometric analyses revealed that in both cases, the dominating product was the C4 alpha-hydroxysulfonate (a primary adduct), while the C4 alpha-hydroxy disulfonate (a secondary adduct or diadduct) was produced only in trace quantities. The primary addition of bisufite anions to methacrolein and methyl vinyl ketone should be considered in atmospheric studies relevant to areas with enhanced presence of sulfur dioxide providing sufficiently high concentrations of bisulfite ions in atmospheric waters.