Atmospheric photooxidation and ozonolysis of sabinene: reaction rate coefficients, product yields, and chemical budget of radicals

Jacky Y. S. Pang, Florian Berg, Anna Novelli, Birger Bohn, Michelle Färber, Philip T. M. Carlsson, René Dubus, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Franz Rohrer, Sergej Wedel, Andreas Wahner, and Hendrik Fuchs

Organic compounds emitted by plants impact air quality by the formation of air pollutants such as ozone and particles while they are oxidized. The Ph.D. student Yat Sing Pang investigated the chemical degradation of the monoterpene sabinene emitted by trees like birch, beech and oak in experiments in the large outdoor chamber SAPHIR at IEK-8. He determined kinetic parameters (reaction rate constants, product yields) in the oxidation of sabinene with the most important atmospheric oxidants (hydroxyl radical and ozone) needed in air quality models.

The work is now published as the peer-reviewed article in the journal Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry.