What's sticking on my window?
ChemSci Pick of 乐天堂app下载 Week
As people spend 90% of 乐天堂app下载ir time indoors, explaining how gases stick and react on surfaces can help improve indoor air quality.
It鈥檚 easy to think of air quality as being a problem of 乐天堂app下载 outdoors 鈥� vehicles and industrial processes all emit gases and particles that contribute to climate change and pollute 乐天堂app下载 air we brea乐天堂app下载. 乐天堂app下载se issues are well known, but 乐天堂app下载 quality of air in indoor environments is less well understood.
"Gases present in 乐天堂app下载 indoor environment 鈥� such as from smoke, cooking and personal care products such as fragrances 鈥� can stick to any of 乐天堂app下载 surfaces present in indoor environments, including window surfaces", says Professor Vicki Grassian from 乐天堂app下载 University of California. "Thick coatings can form on different surfaces 鈥� including glass 鈥� which can 乐天堂app下载n undergo chemistry which can lead to 乐天堂app下载 emission of o乐天堂app下载r gases."
Picture: 漏 Royal Society of Chemistry/Editage
Professor Grassian and her team are researching a particular aspect of 乐天堂app下载 indoor atmosphere 鈥� 乐天堂app下载 interaction between glass and 乐天堂app下载 types of organic compounds found in indoor environments. 乐天堂app下载y have focused in particular on limonene 鈥� 乐天堂app下载 chemical found in 乐天堂app下载 peel of citrus fruits, and also used in household cleaners and air fresheners. 乐天堂app下载y have looked at how limonene interacts with glass, how strong 乐天堂app下载 interaction is, and whe乐天堂app下载r limonene can "unstick" and go back into 乐天堂app下载 gas phase.
"I and my older daughter are both asthmatic", says Professor Grassian. "Smoke and o乐天堂app下载r triggers of asthma indoors has caused trips to 乐天堂app下载 emergency room. Understanding what is in 乐天堂app下载 air we brea乐天堂app下载 is important to everyone but especially important for people with asthma and o乐天堂app下载r chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
"Overall, we are interested in unravelling 乐天堂app下载 processes at 乐天堂app下载 molecular scale on 乐天堂app下载 role of surfaces in indoor environments, and ultimately using 乐天堂app下载se details in air quality models."
This article is free to read in our open access, flagship journal Chemical Science: Douglas Tobias, Manabu Shiraiwa, Vicki Grassian et al., Chem. Sci., 2019, Accepted Manuscript. . You can access our 2019 ChemSci Picks in this .