Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4419–4437, 2019 https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4419-2019 © Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Solubility and solution-phase chemistry of isocyanic acid, methyl isocyanate, and cyanogen halides James M. Roberts1 and Yong Liu2 1NOAA/ESRL Chemical Sciences Division, Boulder, Colorado, 80305, USA 2Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Denver, Denver, Colorado, 80217, USA Correspondence: James M. Roberts (
[email protected]) Received: 1 November 2018 – Discussion started: 9 November 2018 Revised: 23 February 2019 – Accepted: 5 March 2019 – Published: 4 April 2019 Abstract. Condensed-phase uptake and reaction are im- tively slow, 5.7 (±1:4) × 10−5 s−1. The aqueous solubility −1 portant atmospheric removal processes for reduced nitro- of CH3NCO was found to be 1.3 (±0:13) M atm inde- gen species, isocyanic acid (HNCO), methyl isocyanate pendent of pH, and CH3NCO solubility in n-octanol was (CH3NCO), and cyanogen halides (XCN, X D Cl, Br, I); yet also determined at several temperatures and ranged from 4.0 many of the fundamental quantities that govern this chem- (±0:5) M atm−1 at 298 K to 2.8 (±0:3) M atm−1 at 310 K. istry have not been measured or are not well studied. These The aqueous hydrolysis of CH3NCO was observed to be nitrogen species are of emerging interest in the atmosphere slightly acid-catalyzed, in agreement with literature values, as they have either biomass burning sources, i.e., HNCO and and reactions with n-octanol ranged from 2.5 (±0:5) to 5.3 −3 −1 CH3NCO, or, like the XCN species, have the potential to be (±0:7) × 10 s from 298 to 310 K.