Royal Society of Chemistry, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 23(13), p. 11002, 2011
DOI: 10.1039/c0cp02342f
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The gas-phase reactions of ozone with alkenes can be significant sources of free radicals (OH, HO2 and RO2) in the Earth's atmosphere. In this study the total radical production and degradation products from ethene ozonolysis have been measured, under conditions relevant to the troposphere, during a series of detailed simulation chamber experiments. Experiments were carried out in the European photoreactor EUPHORE (Valencia, Spain), utilising various instrumentation including a chemical-ionisation-reaction time-of-flight mass-spectrometer (CIR-TOF-MS) measuring volatile organic compounds/oxygenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs/OVOCs), a laser induced fluorescence (LIF) system for measuring HO2 radical products and a peroxy radical chemical amplification (PERCA) instrument measuring HO2 + ΣRO2. The ethene + ozone reaction system was investigated with and without an OH radical scavenger, in order to suppress side reactions. Radical concentrations were measured under dry and humid conditions and interpreted through detailed chemical chamber box modelling, incorporating the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCMv3.1) degradation scheme for ethene, which was updated to include a more explicit representation of the ethene–ozone reaction mechanism.