Principal Investigator Jesse Kroll
In collaboration with Kevin Wilson (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) and Doug Worsnop (Aerodyne Research) we carry out flow-tube studies aimed at understanding the oxidation of particle-phase organic compounds by gas-phase OH radicals. A major focus is how chemical structure and degree of oxidation influences whether an organic molecule will undergo functionalization (which generally lowers its vapor pressure) or fragmentation (which generally increases it). Chemistry is primarily monitored with aerosol mass spectrometry, using a range of novel vaporization and ionization approaches.