Organic nitrates (RONO2) play important roles in the atmospheric chemistry of Nitrogen oxides NOx (NOx = NO, NO2) and represent a major area of interaction between atmospheric cycles of nitrogen and organic carbon. Nonetheless, the detailed removal process of organic nitrates from the atmosphere is not well understood. This research project will study organic nitrates and their related reaction using a sensitive new multipass absorption technique, cavity ring-down optical spectroscopy. The immediate goal of the research and planning activities is to gain additional experience with this new instrument and obtain some preliminary experimental results with it. During the planning period, specific experiments will be performed to examine the spectroscopy and photochemical reactions related to ethyl nitrates in the atmosphere. The activities associated with this research planning grant will lay the necessary groundwork for the next stage of experiments. The experimental results will demonstrate the principal investigator's ability in performing competitive research in field of atmospheric chemistry and will lead to the development of subsequent NSF proposals.
