EN
The ammonium sulfate ((NH₄)₂SO₄) seed aerosols commonly found in the Chinese urban atmosphere could affect the formation and aging of secondary organic aerosols (SOA). Aging of aromatic SOA is performed using UV-irradiation of 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (135-TMB)/CH₃ONO/NO/air mixtures with high concentrations (~100 μg/m³) of (NH₄)₂SO₄ seeds in the laboratory chamber in this study. The particulate products of SOA were measured using an aerosol laser time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ALTOFMS) in real-time, and fuzzy c-means (FCM) was applied to the mass spectra organic species for clusters. Experimental results indicated that methylglyxoal, 2-methyl-4-oxo-2-pentenal, 4-methyl-1H-imidazole, 4-methyl-imidazole-2-acetaldehyde, and other imidazole derivative compounds are the principal products in the aged particles. Imidazole compounds that can absorb solar radiation effectively were newly detected in the aged 135-TMB SOA with high concentrations of (NH₄)₂SO₄ seed aerosols. These would provide new information for discussing the 135-TMB SOA aging mechanism.