Coupled VOC Oxidation Pathways and the Integrated Formation of Tropospheric Ozone and Secondary Organic Aerosols: A Systematic Review of Mechanistic Insights and Modelling Challenges
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70882/josrar.2026.v3i3.212Keywords:
VOC Oxidation,, Tropospheric Ozone, Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA),, Autoxidation, Peroxy Radicals, Atmospheric ModellingAbstract
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are key precursors of both tropospheric ozone and secondary organic aerosols (SOA), which are two major air pollutants in the troposphere. O3 and SOA are often treated as two different species and are studied independently, while evidence of their formation coupling through shared VOC oxidation pathways is growing. Here, we performed a systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) guidelines to summarize current understanding of the mechanistic links between VOC oxidation, ozone formation and SOA production. A total of 3,425 articles retrieved from Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar were screened, and 36 peer-reviewed papers were selected based on defined criteria for qualitative synthesis. The review found that organic peroxy radical (.RO2) is an important intermediate that dictates the competition between ozone producing pathways and aerosol forming pathways. It was shown that elevated NOx concentrations favours O3 formation through the RO2 + NOx reaction, whereas low-NOx conditions lead to autoxidation and RO2 + HO2 pathways that favour the formation of highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) and SOA mass. The review also identified several persistent challenges with atmospheric models such as the incomplete treatment of intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs), uncertainties in RO2 branching chemistry and shortcomings in multiphase process and autoxidation mechanism representations. The results demonstrate the necessity for integrated multi-pollutant control strategies and robust atmospheric models that represent the coupled O3-SOA system. We link gas-phase oxidation chemistry and aerosol microphysics to provide an overall framework to advance air quality forecast and climate forcing estimate.
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