Seasonal variation characteristics of atmospheric peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) and its source apportionment in a megacity in southern China

Owing to its biotoxicity and inductive effect on photochemical pollution, atmospheric peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), which is a typical product of atmospheric photochemical reactions, has attracted much research attention. However, to the best of our knowledge, few comprehensive studies have been conducted on the seasonal variation and key influencing factors of PAN concentrations in southern China. In this study, PAN, ozone (O3), precursor volatile organic compound (VOC), and other pollutant concentrations were measured online for 1 year (from October 2021 to September 2022) in Shenzhen, a megacity in the Greater Bay Area of China. The average concentrations of PAN and peroxypropionyl nitrate (PPN) were 0.54 and 0.08 parts per billion (ppb), and the maximum hourly concentrations reached 10.32 and 1.01 ppb, respectively. The results of the generalized additive model (GAM) showed that the atmospheric oxidation capacity and precursor concentration were the most important factors affecting the PAN concentration. According to the steady-state model, the average cumulative contribution to the peroxyacetyl (PA) radical formation rate by six major carbonyl compounds was calculated at 4.2 × 106 molecules cm−3 s−1, and acetaldehyde (63.0 %) and acetone (13.9 %) contributed the most. Furthermore, the photochemical-age-based parameterization method was used to analyze the source contributions of carbonyl compounds and PA radicals. The results showed that although the primary anthropogenic (40.2 %), biogenic (27.8 %), and secondary anthropogenic (16.4 %) sources were the most important contributors of PA radicals, the biogenic and secondary anthropogenic source contributions both increased considerably in summer, and the cumulative proportion of both sources reached ~70 % in July. In addition, a comparison of PAN pollution processes in different seasons revealed that in summer and winter, the PAN concentration was predominantly limited by precursors and meteorological parameters, such as light intensity, respectively.