Unified Theory of Vapor-Wall Mass Transport in Teflon-Walled Environmental Chambers

Abstract

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation is studied in laboratory chambers, in which volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are oxidized to produce low-volatility compounds that condense into the aerosol phase. It has been established that such oxidized low-volatility compounds can partition into the chamber walls, which traditionally consist of Teflon film. Several studies exist in which the rates of uptake of individual vapor compounds to the chamber walls have been measured, but a unified theory capable of describing the range of experimental measurements has been lacking. Here, a two-layer model of observed short and long vapor–wall interaction time scales in Teflon-walled environmental chambers is presented and shown to be consistent with experimental data on the rate of wall deposition of more than 90 compounds. Semiempirical relationships between key parameters in the model and vapor molecular properties are derived, which can be used to predict the fate of gas-phase vapor in the chamber under dry conditions.

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