Oxygenated organic radicals are key reactive intermediates in the oxidation of organic compounds in many chemical systems (biological organisms, combustion, chemical catalysis, Earth’s atmosphere and other natural environments …). But these radicals are difficult to observe directly and to differentiate from one another (speciate). This technical limit is a major hurdle in the understanding of these chemical systems. In Earth’s atmosphere it limits the understanding of the atmosphere’s oxidative capacity.
Project EPHEMERAL has for objective to use real-time mass spectrometry to detect and speciate gas-phase organic radicals in Earth’s atmosphere and other complex mixtures. This project is funded by an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC-Adv #884532, 2021 – 2026).
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ERC-Advanced Project EPHEMERAL 