Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3993
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3993
10 Jan 2025
 | 10 Jan 2025

Partitioning of ionic surfactants in aerosol droplets containing glutaric acid, sodium chloride, or sea salts

Alison Bain, Kunal Ghosh, Konstantin Tumashevich, Nonne L. Prisle, and Bryan R. Bzdek

Abstract. Seaspray aerosol is the largest contributor to atmospheric aerosol by mass and contains mixtures of inorganic salts and organics. The chemically complex organic fraction can contain soluble and surface-active organics, and field studies commonly identify ionic surfactants in aerosol samples. In macroscopic solutions, divalent cations present in seaspray have been found to alter the partitioning of ionic surfactants. Furthermore, the high surface-area-to-volume (SA-V) ratio of aerosol droplets may lead to depletion of surfactant from the bulk, requiring more surfactant, relative to its volume, to lower the surface tension of a droplet compared to a macroscopic solution. Here, we investigate the partitioning of model ionic surfactants (sodium dodecylsulfate, anionic, and cert tetrammonium bromide, cationic) in 6 – 10 μm radius droplets containing glutaric acid, NaCl, or sea spray mimic cosolutes. Surface tension measurements are compared to two independent partitioning models which account for the SA-V ratio of the droplets. Salting out of the ionic surfactants leads to strong bulk depletion in 6 – 10 μm radius droplets. No difference in droplet surface tension was observed between NaCl and sea spray mimic cosolutes. The total concentration of ionic surfactant required to reach the minimum surface tension in these droplets (water activity ~0.99) was 2.0 ± 0.5 mM when the macroscopic critical micelle concentration is < 2 mM. These results are consistent with previous observations in droplets containing nonionic surfactants. The partitioning of ionic surfactants in salt-containing droplets has implications for cloud droplet activation and chemistry occurring at the interface of sea spray aerosol.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

06 Jun 2025
Partitioning of ionic surfactants in aerosol droplets containing glutaric acid, sodium chloride, or sea salts
Alison Bain, Kunal Ghosh, Konstantin Tumashevich, Nønne L. Prisle, and Bryan R. Bzdek
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5633–5645, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5633-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5633-2025, 2025
Short summary
Alison Bain, Kunal Ghosh, Konstantin Tumashevich, Nonne L. Prisle, and Bryan R. Bzdek

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3993', Michael Jacobs, 30 Jan 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3993', Anonymous Referee #2, 03 Feb 2025
  • AC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3993', Alison Bain, 27 Feb 2025

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3993', Michael Jacobs, 30 Jan 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3993', Anonymous Referee #2, 03 Feb 2025
  • AC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-3993', Alison Bain, 27 Feb 2025

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
AR by Alison Bain on behalf of the Authors (27 Feb 2025)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (06 Mar 2025) by Thomas Berkemeier
AR by Alison Bain on behalf of the Authors (12 Mar 2025)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Publish as is (13 Mar 2025) by Thomas Berkemeier
AR by Alison Bain on behalf of the Authors (13 Mar 2025)  Manuscript 

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

06 Jun 2025
Partitioning of ionic surfactants in aerosol droplets containing glutaric acid, sodium chloride, or sea salts
Alison Bain, Kunal Ghosh, Konstantin Tumashevich, Nønne L. Prisle, and Bryan R. Bzdek
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5633–5645, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5633-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5633-2025, 2025
Short summary
Alison Bain, Kunal Ghosh, Konstantin Tumashevich, Nonne L. Prisle, and Bryan R. Bzdek
Alison Bain, Kunal Ghosh, Konstantin Tumashevich, Nonne L. Prisle, and Bryan R. Bzdek

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Short summary
In this work, we measure the surface tension of picolitre volume droplets containing strong ionic surfactants and cosolutes. These measurements are compared to surface tension predictions using two independent surfactant partitioning models. We find that when salting out occurs, one model outperforms the other. These results highlight the importance of validating surfactant partitioning models against experimental data before applying them to predict the surface tension of ambient aerosol.
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