Pseudo-half-cell measurements on symmetrical catalyst-coated membranes and their relevance for optimizing DMFC anodes

The preparation of catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) with two anodic catalyst layers (60% PtRu/C as catalyst) using a decal technique and their characterization by pseudo-half-cell measurements using both sides of the CCMs by simply turning the test cell around, allows the characterization of quasi-identical CCMs with a much smaller experimental uncertainty than observed for the classical direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) testing of membrane electrode assemblies under similar working conditions (5 mV vs. 12 mV at a current density of 140 mA cm(-2)). With this new sensitive tool, we study the influence of the dispersing technology and the Nafion content on the performance of DMFC anodes. While the ionomer content shows a broad optimum between 20 and 40%, the dispersing technology does not have a strong impact on the fuel cell performance under the experimental conditions of this study, but influences strongly the stability of the catalyst slurries and the homogeneity of the electrode coatings

Formation of anthropogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and its influence on biogenic SOA properties

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from mixed anthropogenic and biogenic precursors has been studied exposing reaction mixtures to natural sunlight in the SAPHIR chamber in Jülich, Germany. Several experiments with exclusively anthropogenic precursors were performed to establish a relationship between yield and organic aerosol mass loading for the atmospheric relevant range of aerosol loads of 0.01 to 10 μg m<sup>−3</sup>. The yields (0.5–9%) were comparable to previous data and further used for the detailed evaluation of the mixed biogenic and anthropogenic experiments. For the mixed experiments a number of different oxidation schemes were addressed. The reactivity, the sequence of addition, and the amount of the precursors influenced the SOA properties. Monoterpene oxidation products, including carboxylic acids and dimer esters were identified in the aged aerosol at levels comparable to ambient air. OH radicals were measured by Laser Induced Fluorescence, which allowed for establishing relations of aerosol properties and composition to the experimental OH dose. Furthermore, the OH measurements in combination with the derived yields for anthropogenic SOA enabled application of a simplified model to calculate the chemical turnover of the anthropogenic precursor and corresponding anthropogenic contribution to the mixed aerosol. The estimated anthropogenic contributions were ranging from small (≈8%) up to significant fraction (>50%) providing a suitable range to study the effect of aerosol composition on the aerosol volatility (volume fraction remaining at 343 K: 0.86–0.94). The anthropogenic aerosol had higher oxygen to carbon ratio O/C and was less volatile than the biogenic fraction. However, in order to produce significant amount of anthropogenic SOA the reaction mixtures needed a higher OH dose that also increased O/C and provided a less volatile aerosol. A strong positive correlation was found between changes in volatility and O/C with the exception during dark hours where the SOA volatility decreased while O/C did not change significantly. This change in volatility under dark conditions is likely due to chemical or morphological changes not affecting O/C

OH regeneration from methacrolein oxidation investigated in the atmosphere simulation chamber SAPHIR

Hydroxyl radicals (OH) are the most important reagent for the oxidation of trace gases in the atmosphere. OH concentrations measured during recent field campaigns in isoprene-rich environments were unexpectedly large. A number of studies showed that unimolecular reactions of organic peroxy radicals (RO2) formed in the initial reaction step of isoprene with OH play an important role for the OH budget in the atmosphere at low mixing ratios of nitrogen monoxide (NO) of less than 100 pptv. It has also been suggested that similar reactions potentially play an important role for RO2 from other compounds. Here, we investigate the oxidation of methacrolein (MACR), one major oxidation product of isoprene, by OH in experiments in the simulation chamber SAPHIR under controlled atmospheric conditions. The experiments show that measured OH concentrations are approximately 50% larger than calculated by the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) for conditions of the experiments (NO mixing ratio of 90 pptv). The analysis of the OH budget reveals an OH source that is not accounted for in MCM, which is correlated with the production rate of RO2 radicals from MACR. In order to balance the measured OH destruction rate, 0.77 OH radicals (1σ error: ± 0.31) need to be additionally reformed from each reaction of OH with MACR. The strong correlation of the missing OH source with the production of RO2 radicals is consistent with the concept of OH formation from unimolecular isomerization and decomposition reactions of RO2. The comparison of observations with model calculations gives a lower limit of 0.03 s−1 for the reaction rate constant if the OH source is attributed to an isomerization reaction of MACR-1-OH-2-OO and MACR-2-OH-2-OO formed in the MACR + OH reaction as suggested in the literature (Crounse et al., 2012). This fast isomerization reaction would be a competitor to the reaction of this RO2 species with a minimum of 150 pptv NO. The isomerization reaction would be the dominant reaction pathway for this specific RO2 radical in forested regions, where NO mixing ratios are typically much smaller

Observation and modelling of OH and HO2 concentrations in the Pearl River Delta 2006: a missing OH source in a VOC rich atmosphere

Ambient OH and HO2 concentrations were measured by laser induced fluorescence (LIF) during the PRIDE-PRD2006 (Program of Regional Integrated Experiments of Air Quality over the Pearl River Delta, 2006) campaign at a rural site downwind of the megacity of Guangzhou in Southern China. The observed OH concentrations reached daily peak values of (15-26) x 10(6) cm(-3) which are among the highest values so far reported for urban and suburban areas. The observed OH shows a consistent high correlation with j((OD)-D-1) over a broad range of NOx conditions. The correlation cannot be reproduced by model simulations, indicating that OH stabilizing processes are missing in current models. The observed OH exhibited a weak dependence on NOx in contrast to model predictions. While modelled and measured OH agree well at NO mixing ratios above 1 ppb, a continuously increasing underprediction of the observed OH is found towards lower NO concentrations, reaching a factor of 8 at 0.02 ppb NO. A dependence of the modelled-to-measured OH ratio on isoprene cannot be concluded from the PRD data. However, the magnitude of the ratio fits into the isoprene dependent trend that was reported from other campaigns in forested regions. Hofzumahaus et al. (2009) proposed an unknown OH recycling process without NO, in order to explain the high OH levels at PRD in the presence of high VOC reactivity and low NO. Taking a recently discovered interference in the LIF measurement of HO2 into account, the need for an additional HO2 -> OH recycling process persists, but the required source strength may be up to 20% larger than previously determined. Recently postulated isoprene mechanisms by Lelieveld et al. (2008) and Peeters and Muller (2010) lead to significant enhancements of OH expected for PRD, but an underprediction of the observed OH by a factor of two remains at low NO (0.1-0.2 ppb). If the photolysis of hydroperoxy aldehydes from isoprene is as efficient as proposed by Peeters and Muller (2010), the corresponding OH formation at PRD would be more important than the primary OH production from ozone and HONO. While the new isoprene mechanisms need to be confirmed by laboratory experiments, there is probably need for other, so far unidentified chemical processes to explain entirely the high OH levels observed in Southern China