Optical Properties and Molecular Composition of Fine Organic Aerosols in Nanjing, China: A Comparison of 2019 and 2023

TL;DR

This study compares the optical and chemical properties of organic aerosols in Nanjing, China, in 2019 and 2023, finding changes in light absorption and sources.

Contribution

The study provides a detailed comparison of organic aerosol properties in Nanjing over four years, highlighting seasonal and temporal variations.

Findings

MSOC and WSOC concentrations and absorption efficiencies decreased from 2019 to 2023.

Winter samples showed higher MSOC and WSOC due to increased combustion activities.

CHON compounds were the most abundant, with different light-absorbing species in summer and winter.

Abstract

Optical properties and chemical composition of atmospheric fine particles (PM2.5) are critical to their environmental and health effects. In this study, we analyzed the organic aerosols (OA) in PM2.5 samples in Nanjing, China, collected during the summer and winter of 2019 and 2023. Results show a decline in both concentrations and light-absorbing abilities of methanol—soluble organic carbon (MSOC) and water-soluble OC (WSOC) in OA from 2019 to 2023. Due to increased combustion activities, MSOC and WSOC concentrations, and their corresponding mass absorption efficiencies were all higher in winter than in summer. Furthermore, fluorescence indices suggest that OA in Nanjing was influenced by a mix of microbial/biogenic sources. Fluorescent properties of both WSOC and MSOC were dominated by humic-like components but the remaining contribution from protein-like components was more significant in MSOC. The molecular composition of OA did not show a remarkable difference between 2019 and 2023. Overall, CHON compounds were the most abundant species, followed by CHO and CHN compounds, and aliphatic compounds dominated all molecular types except for CHN (in positive mode) and CHON, CHOS (in negative mode). Regarding the OA sources, the numbers of molecules from fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning (BB) were a bit more in 2023 than in 2019, and signal intensities of BB-related molecules were also higher in winter than in summer; the presence of organosulfates indicate the contribution of aqueous-phase oxidation to OA, especially during high relative humidity conditions. At last, correlations between OA molecules and light absorption efficiencies indicate that the key light-absorbing species in winter and summer were likely quite different despite similar chemical compositions, and in summer, CH and CHN compounds were important to light absorption, whereas CHNS compounds became more important in winter.

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