Comprehensive NO-dependent study of the products of the oxidation of atmospherically relevant aromatic compounds.

A comprehensive product study, performed via the turbulent flow chemical ionization mass spectrometry (TF-CIMS) technique, of the primary OH-initiated oxidation of many of the atmospherically abundant aromatic compounds was performed. The bicyclic peroxy radical intermediate, a key proposed intermediate species in the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) for the atmospheric oxidation of aromatics, was detected in all cases, as were stable bicyclic species. The NO product yield dependences suggest a potential role for bicyclic peroxy radical + HO(2) reactions at high HO(2)/NO ratios, which are postulated to be a possible source of the inconsistencies between previous environmental chamber results and predictions from the MCM for ozone production and OH reactivity. The TF-CIMS product yield results are also compared to previous environment chamber results and to the latest MCM parametrization.