Recent advances on SOA formation in indoor air, fate and strategies for SOA characterization in indoor air - A review

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 843; p. 156948
• Main Authors: Pytel, Klaudia, Marcinkowska, Renata, Rutkowska, Małgorzata, Zabiegała, Bożena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15-10-2022
• Subjects: HOM; Indoor air; ROS; SOA; Terpenes; SOA; Terpenes; ROS; HOM; Indoor air
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156948

Recent studies proves that indoor air chemistry differs in many aspects from atmospheric one. People send up to 90 % of their life indoors being exposed to pollutants present in gas, particle and solid phase. Particle phase indoor is composed of particles emitted from various sources, among which there is an indoor source – secondary chemical reactions leading to formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Lately, researchers' attentions turned towards the ultrafine particles, for there are still a lot of gaps in knowledge concerning this field of study, while there is evidence of negative influence of ultrafine particles on human health. Presented review sums up current knowledge about secondary particle formation in indoor environment and development of analytical techniques applied to study those processes. The biggest concern today is studying ROS, for their lifetime in indoor air is very short due to reactions at the very beginning of terpene oxidation process. Another interesting aspect that is recently discovered is monoterpene autooxidation process that leads to HOMs formation that in turn can influence SOA formation yield. A complex studies covering gas phase and particle phase characterization, but also toxicological studies are crucial to fully understand indoor air chemistry leading to ultrafine particle formation.
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•Secondary particle formation in an indoor environment was described.•Analytical techniques applied to study secondary particle formation were presented.•The particle phase indoor is composed of particles emitted from various sources.•Current pandemic situation for sure increased the importance of indoor air quality.•Most relevant literature data on secondary organic aerosol formation were presented.