Secondary organic aerosol formed by condensing anthropogenic vapours over China’s megacities

Secondary organic aerosol contributes a significant fraction to aerosol mass and toxicity. Low-volatility organic vapours are critical intermediates connecting the oxidation of volatile organic compounds to secondary organic aerosol formation. However, the direct measurement of intermediate vapours poses a great challenge. Here we present coordinated measurements of oxygenated organic molecules in the three most urbanized regions of China and determine their likely precursors, enabling us to connect secondary organic aerosol formation to various volatile organic compounds. We show that the oxidation of anthropogenic volatile organic compounds dominates oxygenated organic molecule formation, with an approximately 40% contribution from aromatics and a 40% contribution from aliphatic hydrocarbons (predominantly alkanes), a previously under-accounted class of volatile organic compounds. The irreversible condensation of these anthropogenic oxygenated organic molecules increases significantly in highly polluted conditions, accounting for a major fraction of the production of secondary organic aerosol. We find that the distribution of oxygenated organic molecules and their formation pathways are largely the same across the urbanized regions. This suggests that uniform mitigation strategies could be effective in solving air pollution issues across these highly populated city clusters.