Carbonyl atmospheric reaction products of aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air

To convert gaseous carbonyls to oximes during sampling, an XAD-4 resin denuder system pre-coated with O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine and followed by analysis with methane positive chemical ionization gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was used to measure carbonyls in ambient air samples in Riverside, CA. In conjunction with similar analyses of environmental chamber OH radical-initiated reactions of o- and p-xylene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, ethylbenzene, 4-hydroxy-2-butanone and 1,4-butanediol, we identified benzaldehyde, o-, m- and p-tolualdehyde and acetophenone and the dicarbonyls glyoxal, methylglyoxal, biacetyl, ethylglyoxal, 1,4-butenedial, 3-hexene-2,5-dione, 3-oxo-butanal, 1,4-butanedial and malonaldehyde in the ambient air samples. As discussed, these carbonyls and dicarbonyls can be formed from the OH radical-initiated reactions of aromatic hydrocarbons and other volatile organic compounds emitted into the atmosphere, and we conclude that in situ atmospheric formation is a major source of these carbonyls in our Riverside, CA, ambient air samples.