A new experiment by an international research team demonstrates the mechanism for how the most stable gas-phase form of iodine known as iodic acid is formed.
A new experiment by an international research team demonstrates the mechanism for how the most stable gas-phase form of iodine known as iodic acid is formed. The researchers suggest it has a catalytic role in atmospheric particle formation. This significant result for air quality and climate research was made possible by quantum chemical modelling and field experiments by researchers at the Universities of Tampere and Helsinki in Finland, and University of Colorado Boulder in the United States.
The international team of experts in theoretical molecular modelling and experimental chemical reaction research combined results from field experiments and detailed laboratory chamber simulations to resolve the first molecular steps of particle formation from iodine emissions. Their article was published in the prestigious Nature Chemistry journal on 14 November 2022.
The new particle formation is an immensely important phenomena in the atmosphere. It affects our well-being from the immediate influence on local air quality to the global climate change. Atmospheric secondary particles form as a result of rapid chemical reactions transforming volatile gas molecules into condensable aerosol pre-stages. They are mainly formed by oxidation of three elements: sulfur, carbon and iodine.
Read More: Tampere University
Researchers tested their findings on Réunion Island on the southern Indian Ocean. (Photo Credit: Sergey Zhesterev / Unsplash)
