Wildfire smoke and urban haze may persist longer in the atmosphere than current models predict due to slower evaporation of organic aerosol molecules.
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Researchers analyzed over 1,500 chemical species across 33 organic aerosol mixtures to study aerosol behavior and volatility.
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Apparent volatility in complex mixtures was reduced significantly, indicating that surrounding molecules stabilize compounds in the particle phase.
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Machine learning was used to compare molecular descriptors, showing that mixture-averaged properties better predict apparent volatility.
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Incorporating reduced volatility into atmospheric simulations suggested that smoke-derived organic aerosols may remain airborne longer than previously estimated.
