In this study, a novel acoustic levitation experimental set up is described that is aimed to significantly improve the understanding of the role of the ozonolysis of terpenes in the production and ageing of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in the Earth’s atmosphere.  A static reaction chamber and flow reactor will be interfaced to a particle levitator to examine the ageing of secondary organic aerosol in the presence of ozone and dinitrogen pentoxide. The experiments are aimed to provide information on: the identity of the nucleation species, its mechanism of formation and the physical and chemical ageing of SOA.