Chemical change | EPFL Graph Search

Chemical changes occur when a substance combines with another to form a new substance, called chemical synthesis or, alternatively, chemical decomposition into two or more different substances. These processes are called chemical reactions and, in general, are not reversible except by further chemical reactions. Some reactions produce heat and are called exothermic reactions and others may require heat to enable the reaction to occur, which are called endothermic reactions. Understanding chemical changes is a major part of the science of chemistry. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an energy change as new products are generated. An example of a chemical change is the reaction between sodium and water to produce sodium hydroxide and hydrogen. So much energy is released that the hydrogen gas released spontaneously burns in the air. This is an example of a chemical change because the end products are chemically different from the substances before the chemical reaction. Chemists categorize chemical changes into three main classes: inorganic chemical changes, organic chemical changes and biochemical changes. Inorganic chemistry describes the reactions of elements and compounds that, in general, do not involve carbon. The changes typically take place in laboratories, or on a larger scale in heavy industries. Typical types of change include neutralization (mixing an acid with a base, resulting in water and salt), oxidization including combustion, redox reactions etc. Organic chemistry is concerned with the chemistry of carbon and the elements and compound with which it reacts. These compounds include mineral oil and all of its products and much of the output of industries manufacturing pharmaceuticals, paints, detergents, cosmetics, fuels etc. Typical examples of organic chemical changes include cracking heavy hydrocarbons at an oil refinery to create more gasoline from crude oil, as gasoline is in higher demand than the heavier hydrocarbons, such as residual fuel oils.

Simulating Biogenic Secondary Organic Aerosol During Summertime in China

Athanasios Nenes, Mengmeng Li, Yu Song

Biogenic secondary organic aerosol (BSOA) contributes significantly to summertime organic particulate matter. In this study, a simulation of BSOA for summer 2012 over China is performed using the Community Multiscale Air Quality model with an explicit representation of BSOA formation via reactive uptake of isoprene-derived intermediates, species-specific parameters for monoterpene-derived BSOA production, and a multigenerational oxidation scheme. Simulated BSOA tracks the measurements well (normalized mean bias of 1% and r(2) of 0.59). Elevated BSOA occurs in the Sichuan Basin and southeastern China (except the coastal areas) where concentrations are mostly within the range of 5-7.5 mu g/m(3). Nitrate oxidation dominates fresh BSOA originating from monoterpenes. Simulated monoterpene-formed BSOA increases by a factor of 3-11 with multigenerational oxidation. Isoprene-formed BSOA shows high concentrations in southwestern China, formed primarily by two methyltetrols (2-MT) and organosulfates (62%-83%). High concentrations in this region are driven by the abundance of IEPOX and high particle surface area of sulfate-laden aerosols. NOx emissions influence the formation pathways of isoprene-formed BSOA, as a high ratio of two-methylglyceric acid (2-MG)/2-MT is found in the North China Plain and part of the Yangtze River Delta Region. The simulated isoprene-formed BSOA is more strongly correlated with sulfate than with particle water mass concentration or particle acidity, in part because sulfate increases the surface area increasing uptake for heterogeneous reactions. Decreases in isoprene-formed BSOA were simulated with a pH increase of 2, implying that particle acidity mediates the BSOA formation. Plain Language Summary Emissions from plants contribute to particulate matter formation when they interact with emissions due to human activities. With intense anthropogenic emissions in China, how biogenic aerosols are formed as well as how the formation processes are impacted by anthropogenic emissions are not clear yet. This study applied an advanced modeling approach to simulate formation of biogenic aerosols over continental China in summer. We modeled high levels of biogenic aerosols in the Sichuan Basin and southeastern China, not only because of more forests in these areas than elsewhere but also due to particulate matter of anthropogenic origin. Based on the simulation, there is a clear evidence that anthropogenic emissions impact the chemical formation and composition of biogenic aerosols and particle acidity. Therefore, a decrease (increase) in biogenic aerosols and particle acidity would be a cobenefit (side effect) of anthropogenic emission controls.

2018

Instability in CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells due to elemental migration and chemical composition changes

Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin, Zubair Ahmad, Ahmed Soliman

Organic-inorganic halide perovskites have rapidly grown as favorable materials for photovoltaic applications, but accomplishing long-term stability is still a major research problem. This work demonstrates a new insight on instability and degradation factors in CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells aging with time in open air. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been used to investigate the compositional changes caused by device degradation over the period of 1000 hrs. XPS spectra confirm the migration of metallic ions from the bottom electrode (ITO) as a key factor causing the chemical composition change in the perovskite layer besides the diffusion of oxygen. XPS results are in good agreement with the crystallographic marks. Glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES) has also been performed on the samples to correlate the XPS results. Based on the experimental results, fundamental features that account for the instability in the perovskite solar cell is discussed.

Springer Nature2017

Simulating Biogenic Secondary Organic Aerosol During Summertime in China

Athanasios Nenes, Mengmeng Li, Yu Song

2018