Conducted at the European Photoreactor (EUPHORE) facility, within the Centre for Mediterranean Studies (CEAM) in Valencia (Spain), Toluene OXidation In a Chamber (TOXIC) was established to help improve our understanding of aromatic hydrocarbon photooxidation. Aromatic VOCs are key components of the polluted urban boundary layer and play important roles in contemporary air quality problems, including in the production of Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) material. Using toluene as a model system, the primary aims of TOXIC were to (i) obtain product mass closure for the aromatic system, (ii) map, in detail, the photo-degradation of typical first generation products (e.g. benzaldehyde), (iii) to investigate the potential for aromatic photooxidation to comprise a secondary radical source and (iv) to investigate the links between the complex gas-phase aromatic oxidation matrix and SOA. Analysis of the data obtained from TOXIC is on-going, with first results to be published in 2016. TOXIC was funded by the EU EUROCHAMP framework and led by the University of Leeds.
