Interfacial Chemistry of Aqueous Sulfur/Iodide Aerosol Microdroplets in Gaseous Ozone

The intermediates ISO3- (m/z = 207) and IS2O3- (m/z = 239) generated in aqueous (iodide - thiosulfate) microdroplets traversing dilute ozone gas plumes at atmospheric pressure are detected via online electrospray mass spectrometry within 1 ms, and their stabilities gauged by collision-induced dissociation. The simultaneous detection of anionic reactants and the S2O62-, HSO4-, IO3- and I3- products as a function of experimental conditions provides evidence of unique interfacial reaction kinetics. Although ozone reacts ~3-4 times faster with I- than S2O332- in bulk solution, only S2O32- is apparently oxidized in [I--]o/[S2O32- ]o = 10 microdroplets below [O3(g)] ~ 50 ppm. The sulfite to sulfate and iodide to triiodide and iodate oxidations in the interfacial layers of aqueous thiosulfate or mixed thiosulfate and iodide microdroplets briefly exposed to dilute O3(g) gas mixtures are also investigated. S(IV) oxidation kinetics in sodium thiosulfate solutions, where the rates are proportional to [S(IV)] [O3(g)] in the ranges investigated, correspond to a surface-specific reaction. I3-/IO3- yields based on interfacial I- losses exceed their stoichiometric limits in the presence of excess S(IV), revealing that interfacial I- is competitively replenished from the microdroplets inner layers. Present results provide unequivocal evidence of distinct interfacial chemistry in gas-aerosol reactions of atmospheric relevance.