title: Elemental sulfur aerosol-forming mechanism.
abstract: Elemental sulfur aerosols are ubiquitous in the atmospheres of Venus, ancient Earth, and Mars. There is now an evolving body of evidence suggesting that these aerosols have also played a role in the evolution of early life on Earth. However, the exact details of their formation mechanism remain an open question. The present theoretical calculations suggest a chemical mechanism that takes advantage of the interaction between sulfur oxides, SOn(n = 1, 2, 3) and hydrogen sulfide (nH2S), resulting in the efficient formation of a Sn+1particle. Interestingly, the SOn+ nH2S → Sn+1+ nH2O reactions occur via low-energy pathways under water or sulfuric acid catalysis. Once the Sn+1particles are formed, they may further nucleate to form larger polysulfur aerosols, thus providing a chemical framework for understanding the formation mechanism of S0aerosols in different environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588.
authors.forename: Manoj
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 francisc@purdue.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Francisco
keywords: catalysis; hydrogen sulfide; nonphotochemical; planetary environment; sulfur aerosols