URBAN AEROSOL REFRACTIVE-INDEX PREDICTION BY PARTIAL MOLAR REFRACTION APPROACH

The ambient aerosol of the polluted troposphere is a complex mixture of water, electrolytes, ionic solids, metal oxides and glasses, and carbonaceous material. Prediction of the refractive indexes of these inhomogeneous mixtures can be a formidable task. Contained within this paper is the necessary parameterization to estimate the mean real aerosol refractive index based on aerosol chemical composition and the partial molar refraction approach. This approach assumes all chemical constituents are homogeneously distributed throughout the aerosol phase. Consistency of the data is discussed, and this approach is verified by prediction of refractive indexes of NaOH–Si-O2–H2O mixtures. Finally, aerosol chemical composition data from the Los Angeles Basin are used to predict mean real aerosol refractive indexes. These values are compared to urban aerosol refractive indexes calculated via other techniques (light scattering). © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.