Summertime oxidative potential of atmospheric PM2.5 over New Delhi: effect of aerosol ageing

Abstract

Exposure to elevated particulate matter (PM) concentrations in ambient air has become a major health concern over urban areas worldwide. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation due to ambient PM (termed as their oxidative potential, OP) is shown to play a major role in PM-induced health effects. In the present study, the OP of the ambient PM2.5 samples, collected during summer 2019 from New Delhi, were measured using the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay. Average volume-normalized OP (OPV) was 2.9 ± 1.1 nmol DTT min−1 m−3, and mass-normalized OP (OPm) was 61 ± 29 pmol DTT min−1 μg−1. The regression statistics of OPv vs chemical species show the maximum slope of OPV with the elemental carbon (EC, r2 = 0.72) followed by water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC, r2 = 0.72), and organic carbon (OC, r2 = 0.64). A strong positive correlation between OPm and secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA, such as NH4+ and NO3− mass fractions) was also observed, indicating that the sources emitting NO2 and NH3, precursors of NO3− and NH4+, also emit DTT-active species. Interestingly, the slope value of OPv vs OC for aged aerosols (OM/OC > 1.7, f44 > 0.12 and f43 < 0.04) was 1.7 times higher than relatively fresh organic aerosols (OA, OM/OC < 1.7, f44 < 0.12, f43 > 0.04). An increase in OPv and OPoc with f44 indicates the formation of more DTT active species with the ageing of OA. A linear increase in OPoc with increasing Nitrogen/Carbon (N/C) ratio suggests that nitrogenous OA have higher OP.