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Molecular characteristics and formation pathways of organosulfates in atmospheric fine particles: A case study in steel industrial city during winter heating period.

Cuiping Ning,Yutong Tang,Hao Sun,Dan Wang,Shuai Sun,Yuan Gao

Published 2025 in Journal of Hazardous Materials

ABSTRACT

Air pollution is a critical global issue, posing serious threats to both the environment and human health. Organosulfates play a significant role in haze formation, yet research on their molecular characteristics, pollution dynamics, and atmospheric transformation processes remains relatively limited. In this study, 25 PM2.5 samples were collected from a steel industrial city during the winter heating period and subjected to comprehensive chemical characterization employing Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). A total of 6348 sulfur-containing compounds were identified, encompassing CHOS1, CHOS2, CHON1S1, CHON1S2, CHON2S1, and CHON2S2. Analysis showed 42.0-95.2 % of these compounds had O/(4S+3 N)≥ 1, indicating a high prevalence of organosulfates (OSs) and nitrooxy-organosulfates (NOSs) in the samples. OSs and NOSs derived from different precursors showed the following relative proportions: long-chain alkanes (24.9 %), monoterpenes (22.0 %), sesquiterpenes (14.5 %), diterpenes (5.1 %), and naphthalenes (2.5 %). Further analysis of the FT-ICR MS dataset reveals that temperature, O3, metal ions, relative humidity, and NO2 were key factors in driving the formation of OSs and NOSs. These results highlight the critical role of acid-catalyzed epoxide ring-opening reactions, esterification processes, and reactions involving sulfate radicals or liquid-phase mechanisms in the formation pathways of OSs and NOSs.

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