Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is a major component of atmospheric fine particulate matter and plays an important role in air pollution, atmospheric chemistry, and climate. We investigate SOA formation and transformation across field and laboratory settings using oxidation flow reactor (OFR) and smog chamber experiments, together with online aerosol and gas-phase mass spectrometry. These approaches allow us to examine how volatile, intermediate-volatility, and semivolatile organic compounds form SOA through atmospheric oxidation, gas-to-particle conversion, and aqueous and multiphase processing, and to track their chemical evolution with high time resolution.
A major focus is the distinct chemical regime of SOA formation in polluted urban environments in China, where abundant anthropogenic precursors, nitrogen oxides, particulate nitrate, and aerosol liquid water enhance SOA formation through organic-inorganic interactions and multiphase transformation. We examine how relative humidity and atmospheric oxidation influence SOA production, chemical composition, and aging. We also investigate emerging anthropogenic precursors, their reaction kinetics and SOA yields, and the growing importance of SOA as primary emissions decline.
Representative publications
1. Huang, R. J.*, Li, Y. J., Chen, Q., Zhang, Y. L., Lin, C. S., Chan, C. K., Yu, J. Z., de Gouw, J., Tong, S. R., Jiang, J. K., Wang, W. G., Ding, X., Wang, X. M., Ge, M. F., Zhou, W. J., Worsnop, D., Boy, M., Bilde, M., Dusek, U., Carlton, A. G., Hoffmann, T., McNeill, V. F., Glasius, M.: Secondary organic aerosol in urban China: A distinct chemical regime for air pollution studies, Science, 389, eadq2840, DOI: 10.1126/science.adq2840, 2025.
2. Duan, J., Zhou, L. Y., Huang, R. J.*, Zhan, Y. N., Qu, J., Liu, J. H., Lin, C. S., Wang, T., Zhong, H. B., Ren, J. Y., Huang, W., Xu, W., Liu, Q, Liu, Z. R., Lou, S. R., Yang, H. N., Huang, D. D., Huang, C., Wang, H. L.: Enhanced secondary organic aerosol formation in humid urban air: The evolution of oxygenated volatile intermediates, Environ. Sci. Technol., 60, 18756-18766, 2026.
3. Lin, C. S., Huang, R. J.*, Duan, J., Qu, J., Liu, J. H., Liu, Y., Luo, Y., Huang, W., Xu, W., Zhan, Y. N., Liu, Z. T., Liu, S. H., Zhang, Q. S., Liu, Q., Liu, Z. R., Lou, S. R., Yang, H. N., Huang, D. D., Huang, C., Wang, H. L.: Growing role of secondary organic aerosol in the North China Plain from 2014 to 2024, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 2635-2647, 2026.
4. Zhan, Y. N., Huang, D. D., Wang, H. L., Gao, Y. Q., Li, Y. J., Zhu, S. H., Liu, Q. Y., Duan, J., Yan, L., Xu, W., Zhong, H. B., Zhou, L. Y., Li., Y. J., Huang, C., Fu, Q. Y., Hoffmann, T., Huang, R. J.*: Formation kinetics and yields of secondary organic aerosol from benzothiazoles based on oxidation flow reactor and ambient studies, Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett., 12, 1366-1372, 2025.
5. Zhan, Y. N., Huang, D. D., Gao, Y. Q., Zhou, L. Y., Shen, J. C., Yuan, W., Duan, J., Li, X., Tang, Z. F., Zhong, H. B., Huang, C., Wang, H. L., Huang, R. J.*: Molecular tracking the formation and aging of secondary organic aerosol from benzothiazole photooxidation, Environ. Sci. Technol., 60, 11597–11607, 2026.
