Size distribution and mixing state of refractory black carbon aerosol from a coastal city in South China

An intensive measurement campaign was conducted in the coastal city of Xiamen, China to investigate the size distribution and mixing state of the refractory black carbon (rBC) aerosol. The average rBC concentration for the campaign, measured with a ground-based single particle soot photometer (SP2), was 2.3 ± 1.7 μg m^− 3, which accounted for ~ 4.3% of the PM_2.5 mass. A potential source contribution function model indicated that emissions from coastal cities to the southwest were the most important source for the rBC and that shipping traffic was another likely source. The mass size distribution of the rBC particles was mono-modal and approximately lognormal, with a mass median diameter (MMD) of ~ 185 nm. Larger MMDs (~ 195 nm) occurred during polluted conditions compared with non-polluted times (~ 175 nm) due to stronger biomass burning activities during pollution episodes. Uncoated or thinly-coated particles composed the bulk of the rBC aerosol, and on average ~ 31% of the rBC was internally-mixed or thickly-coated. A positive matrix factorization model showed that organic materials were the predominant component of the rBC coatings and that mixing with nitrate increased during pollution conditions. These findings should lead to improvements in the parameterizations used to model the radiative effects of rBC.