Zhou Qiqi¹， Zang Han²， Zhao Yue²， Guo Song¹

1.State Key Laboratory of Regional Environment and Sustainability， College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering， Peking University， Beijing 100871， China； 2.School of Environmental Science and Engineering， Shanghai Jiao Tong University， Shanghai 200240， China

Abstract

Significance Secondary organic aerosol （SOA） is an important component of atmospheric organic aerosol and contributes substantially to fine-particle pollution， visibility degradation， climate effects， and human health risks. Quantifying ambient SOA and identifying the gaseous precursors and emission sources that sustain its formation are two fundamental and closely connected challenges. These challenges are particularly important in China， where intensive emissions from transportation， industry， coal combustion， solvent use， cooking， biomass burning， and biogenic sources interact under high nitrogen oxide levels， strong atmospheric oxidizing capacity， high aerosol liquid water content， and regional transport. To clarify the development of SOA quantification and precursor characterization in China， advances in observational identification， source profile measurement， ambient precursor detection， and emission inventories are reviewed， with emphasis on contributions from Chinese researchers and mass closure from source emissions to ambient SOA.

Progress SOA quantification in China has evolved from operational estimates based on organic carbon-to-elemental carbon ratios and the elemental carbon tracer method to multiple-evidence constraints using water-soluble organic carbon， chemical mass balance with molecular markers， molecular tracer yield methods， online aerosol mass spectrometry coupled with positive matrix factorization or multilinear engine 2， and volatile organic compound photochemical loss-yield approaches. Early measurements of carbonaceous aerosols established the widespread occurrence of secondary organic carbon in Chinese cities and regional background areas. Subsequent molecular and online measurements improved chemical specificity， temporal resolution， and source interpretation， revealing that oxygenated organic aerosol is commonly an important component during regional transport and atmospheric aging. Comparisons among methods demonstrate that their target quantities and mass boundaries are not equivalent. Secondary organic carbon estimated with the elemental carbon tracer method can be 4%-212% higher than that derived from positive matrix factorization because primary organic carbon-to-elemental carbon ratios vary among emission sources and atmospheric processes. Molecular tracer yield methods may explain only part of total secondary organic carbon， whereas oxygenated organic aerosol cannot be assigned uniquely to a specific precursor or emission source. These findings shift the emphasis from seeking a single optimal estimate to establishing comparable mass bases， uncertainty ranges， and complementary observational constraints.

Conclusions and Prospects A multiple-evidence framework integrating particle-phase quantification， gas-phase precursor loss，locally measured source profiles， ambient validation， and full-volatility emission inventories is required to improve SOA mass closure in China. Future studies should harmonize the definitions and conversion boundaries of secondary organic carbon， SOA， water-soluble organic carbon， and oxygenated organic aerosol； establish standardized full-volatility reactive organic carbon profiles and dynamic emission factors for representative Chinese sources； improve measurements of oxygenated IVOCs， SVOCs， and unresolved mixtures； and strengthen cross-validation among source-test formation potential， ambient precursor loss， particle-phase products， and chemical transport models. These advances will support the coordinated control of fine particulate matter and ozone during deeper emission reductions.

Keywords： secondary organic aerosol； precursor source profile； intermediate-volatility organic compounds； semi-volatile organic compounds； reactive organic carbon； full-volatility emission inventory

Get Citation: Zhou Qiqi， Zang Han， Zhao Yue， et al. Research progress on quantitative estimation and precursor basis of atmospheric secondary organic aerosols in China［J］. China Powder Science and Technology， 2027， 33（2）： 1-15.

Received:2026-08-04， Revised： 2026-09-10， Online： 2026-09-16。

Funding：The research was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFC3701002) and the Special Fund of State Key Laboratory of Regional Environment and Sustainability (Grant No. 26Y01RESPKU).

DOI：10.13732/j.issn.1008-5548.2027.02.010

CLC No.：TB4； TQ324.8

Type Code: A

Serial No.:1008-5548（2027）02-0001-15