Advancing fundamental atmospheric chemistry by integrating experimental, theoretical, and field studies

An important task in atmospheric chemistry research concerns with the understanding for the trend and causes of varying air compositions associated with anthropogenic and natural activities, with profound implications for human and ecological health, weather, climate, and global biogeochemical cycles. Atmospheric chemistry typically involves complex gas-phase oxidation and gas-to-particle conversion, and a major challenge lies in the treat and representation for kinetically driven, nonequilibrium chemical processes for various inorganic and organic species. In this talk, I will present laboratory experiments, theoretical calculations, and field measurements to advance fundamental atmospheric chemistry, focusing on the non-equilibrium processes relevant to gas-to-particle conversion. I will emphasize on the importance of organic functionality from photooxidation of volatile organic compounds in new particle formation (NPF) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. I will also describe a kinetics-based and reactivity-driven framework for plausible inclusion of non-equilibrium aerosol-phase processes in atmospheric models.