Job details Print page

Atmospheric aerosol, known for its chemical complexity, serious negative impact on human health, and large but uncertain effects on climate, represents a substantial fraction of tropospheric air pollution. Global and regional observations reveal that most submicron aerosol particles are secondary in nature, i.e., formed through atmospheric chemical processes, contributing up to 90% of aerosol mass over continental regions. Despite substantial progress in understanding the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), the molecular-level processes controlling its chemical composition, transformation, and atmospheric fate remain incompletely understood.

A particularly promising but still insufficiently explored aspect of SOA chemistry is its molecular chirality. Chiral organic compounds are abundant among biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) oxidation products, especially those derived from monoterpenes and other terpenoids. Their enantiomeric composition can provide information on precursor sources, atmospheric processing, and the extent of chemical transformation. At the same time, atmospheric oxidation may alter the abundance and enantiomeric composition of individual compounds, potentially generating characteristic molecular fingerprints of SOA formation and aging. Consequently, chirality represents a powerful but underutilized molecular-level approach for investigating the atmospheric evolution of organic aerosol.

The main objective of the project is to establish a comprehensive understanding of the role of molecular chirality in the formation and atmospheric aging of secondary organic aerosol, with particular emphasis on SOA derived from monoterpenes. We aim to investigate how the enantiomeric composition of selected chiral oxidation products changes during atmospheric oxidation and how these changes can be linked to precursor identity, oxidation pathways, and aerosol aging. Laboratory-generated SOA will be produced under atmospherically relevant oxidative conditions and characterized using advanced chromatographic and mass-spectrometric approaches capable of resolving and quantifying individual enantiomers.

The laboratory results will be confronted with measurements of ambient aerosol collected in forested, rural, and suburban environments. By combining molecular composition, enantiomeric ratios, and conventional aerosol characteristics, we will assess whether chiral compounds can serve as molecular tracers of SOA sources and atmospheric processing. Particular attention will be given to distinguishing primary source signatures from changes induced by atmospheric oxidation and to identifying compounds or enantiomeric ratios that retain information about precursor origin.

The project will provide novel experimental data on the occurrence, transformation, and atmospheric significance of chiral organic compounds in SOA. By introducing chirality as an additional molecular dimension of aerosol characterization, the study will contribute to a better understanding of SOA formation and aging and may provide new tools for tracing biogenic aerosol sources and evaluating atmospheric processing in forested, rural, and suburban regions. Importantly, the project will focus on gas-phase oxidation and particle-phase processes and will not investigate chemical reactions occurring in the aqueous phase.

Responsibilities

1. Sample preparation

2. Measurements with different spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques

3. Data analysis

4. Reporting

1. Position with 100% focus on research
2. Full technical, administrative, and organizational support.

Career development prospects at IChF:

1. The successful candidate will be part of an Environmental Chemistry Group in IChF.
2. Opportunity to advance scientific knowledge and gain experience in environmental, analytical and organic chemistry research project.
3. Opportunity to work in a dynamic team of experienced chemists and engineers.

Requirements for the candidate – the candidate:

1. full-time or part-time at least in firts-cycle studies at universities in the territory of Poland (see competition documentation of the National Science Center (NCS) for the OPUS 27) in chemical sciences or related fields;
2. has basic knowledge in analytical and environmental chemistry and basic experience at work in the analytical laboratory;
3. has basic knowledge in preparation and analysis of ambient aerosol samples;
4. has the ability to prepare PowerPoint presentations, communicate with Team Members, and present results;
5. has English language skills at a communicative level.

The recruitment committee will evaluate the candidates’ research achievements, their research-related achievements and competencies as regards specific tasks in the research project, expressed as a point score:

• the candidate’s competence to carry out specific tasks in the research project (50% of the final score)
• the candidate’s research achievements, including publications in prestigious academic press /journals (30% of the final score)
• research-related achievements, scholarships, awards and research experience gained in Poland or abroad, research workshops and training courses, participation in research projects (20% of the final score)

https://www.ncn.gov.pl/sites/default/files/pliki/uchwaly-rady/2024/uchwala25_2024-zal1_ang.pdf