Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Department
Chemistry
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOAs) have been of interest to atmospheric chemists for their harmful effects on human health and implications for climate change. Here, we explore a likely system from the early stages of SOA formation. Using compu- tational methods, water nanoparticles with and without ions were simulated. We observe the effects of ions on the adsorption of SO2 on this system. SO2 in the at- mosphere is associated with greater production of SOAs, so its study is important to SOA formation. We find that the overall structure of water is the most important observable affecting the location of SO2 within the nanoparticle. Although ions can influence the structure of water, their effect is not as pronounced as the physical con- straints of the system itself: the radius of the nanoparticles in this case. We do so by presenting a novel density function based on dipole alignment.
Advisor(s) or Committee Chair
Matthew Nee, Ph.D.
Disciplines
Environmental Chemistry | Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing
Recommended Citation
Gillispie, Nathaniel W., "The Effect of Ions on the Adsorption of SO2 On a Water Nanoparticle" (2024). Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects. Paper 1039.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses/1039