Dataset associated with "Particle Size Distribution Dynamics Can Help Constrain the Phase State of Secondary Organic Aerosol"

Abstract

Particle phase state is a property of atmospheric aerosols that has important implications for the formation, evolution, and gas/particle partitioning of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). In this work, we use a size-resolved chemistry and microphysics model (SOM-TOMAS), updated to include an explicit treatment of particle phase state, to constrain the bulk diffusion coefficient (Db) of SOA produced from alpha-pinene ozonolysis. By leveraging data from laboratory experiments performed in the absence of a seed and under dry conditions, we find that the Db for SOA can be constrained (1-5 ×10^-15 cm^2 s^-1 in these experiments) by simultaneously reproducing the time-varying SOA mass concentrations and the evolution of the particle size distribution. Another version of our model that used the predicted SOA composition to calculate the glass transition temperature, viscosity, and, ultimately, Db (~10-15 cm^2 s^-1) of the SOA was able to reproduce the mass and size distribution measurements when we included oligomer formation (oligomers accounted for about a fifth of the SOA mass). Our work highlights the potential of a size-resolved SOA model to constrain the particle phase state of SOA by utilizing historical measurements of the evolution of the particle size distribution.