The surface of the aerosols modifies the composition of the air, even at night!

A team of scientists from Institut de recherches sur la catalyse et l’environnement de Lyon (CNRS/Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University), in collaboration with the institut Weizmann, the University of California at Irvine and Guangzhou Technical University, highlights the primordial role of the surface of atmospheric aerosols in the production of oxidizing free radicals, even at night, in the absence of light or heat, which were thought to be essential for these reactions. This discovery invites us to reconsider the oxidizing power of aerosols and their influence on the chemical composition of the troposphere, with a major impact on climate and health.

More information in the article of the INC of the CNRS devoted to this work:
https://www.inc.cnrs.fr/fr/cnrsinfo/la-surface-des-aerosols-modifie-la-composition-de-lair-meme-la-nuit

Spontaneous dark formation of OH radicals at the interface of aqueous atmospheric droplets
Kangwei Li, Yunlong Guo, Sergey A. Nizkorodov, Yinon Rudich, Maria Angelaki, Xinke Wang, Taicheng An, Sebastien Perrier & Christian George
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2220228120