Photochemistry of glyoxylate embedded in sodium chloride clusters, a laboratory model for tropospheric sea-salt aerosols.

ABSTRACT: Although marine aerosols undergo extensive photochemical processing in the troposphere, a molecular level understanding of the elementary steps involved in these complex reaction sequences is still missing. As a defined laboratory model system, the photodissociation of sea salt clusters doped with glyoxylate, [Na_nCl_n-2(C₂HO₃)]⁺, n = 5-11, is studied by a combination of mass spectrometry, laser spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. Glyoxylate acts as a chromophore, absorbing light below 400 nm via two absorption bands centered at about 346 and 231 nm. Cluster fragmentation dominates, which corresponds to internal conversion of the excited state energy into vibrational modes of the electronic ground state and subsequent unimolecular d

SUBMITTER: Bersenkowitsch NK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5885371 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature