Computational Study of Gas-Phase Reactions to Produce Sulfite Esters: A New Class of Sulfur Containing Molecules in the Atmosphere?
- 1Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, HelsinkiFI-00014, Finland.
- 2Aerosol Physics Laboratory, Physics Unit, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere33720, Finland.
- 3Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 55, HelsinkiFI-00014, Finland.
Abstract
We use computational quantum chemistry to study gas-phase reactions of aldehydes with water and sulfur dioxide. We find that a new reaction leading to the formation of previously nearly unstudied sulfite esters is possible with a comparatively low barrier. The reaction can be catalyzed by the presence of additional hydrogen bonding molecules, including water, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid. Our calculations also show that the binding energy between nitrate ions and sulfite esters should be high enough to enable their detection by nitrate ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS). Under certain conditions, such as at the surface of acid-base clusters, the formation of these sulfite esters should be competitive with that of organosulfates and sulfinic acids. These findings suggest that sulfite esters may represent a new class of molecules that can contribute to new particle formation (NPF) and the subsequent generation of atmospheric aerosol.
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BibTeX
@article{daub2026computational,
title = {{Computational Study of Gas-Phase Reactions to Produce Sulfite Esters: A New Class of Sulfur Containing Molecules in the Atmosphere?}},
author = {Christopher David Daub and Avinash Kumar and Matti Rissanen},
journal = {The journal of physical chemistry letters},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1021/acs.jpclett.6c02217},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42910965},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Computational Study of Gas-Phase Reactions to Produce Sulfite Esters: A New Class of Sulfur Containing Molecules in the Atmosphere?
AU - Christopher David Daub
AU - Avinash Kumar
AU - Matti Rissanen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The journal of physical chemistry letters
DO - 10.1021/acs.jpclett.6c02217
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42910965
AB - We use computational quantum chemistry to study gas-phase reactions of aldehydes with water and sulfur dioxide. We find that a new reaction leading to the formation of previously nearly unstudied sulfite esters is possible with a comparatively low barrier. The reaction can be catalyzed by the presence of additional hydrogen bonding molecules, including water, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid. Our calculations also show that the binding energy between nitrate ions and sulfite esters should be high enough to enable their detection by nitrate ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS). Under certain conditions, such as at the surface of acid-base clusters, the formation of these sulfite esters should be competitive with that of organosulfates and sulfinic acids. These findings suggest that sulfite esters may represent a new class of molecules that can contribute to new particle formation (NPF) and the subsequent generation of atmospheric aerosol.
SN - 1948-7185
ER -