Peroxyacyl nitrates

In organic chemistry, peroxyacyl nitrates (also known as Acyl peroxy nitrates, APN or PANs) are powerful respiratory and eye irritants present in photochemical smog. They are nitrates produced in the thermal equilibrium between organic peroxy radicals by the gas-phase oxidation of a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), or by aldehydes and other oxygenated VOCs oxidizing in the presence of NO2.

They are good markers for the source of VOCs as either biogenic or anthropogenic, which is useful in the study of global and local effects of pollutants.

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