Aerosol effects on clouds represent the largest unknown factor that contributes to climate change.  Specifically, the ability of aerosols to take up water and nucleate a cloud droplet is not well understood.  Recent studies have shown that pre-adsorption of water on insoluble atmospheric aerosol can enhance their cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity.  Additionally, particle morphology uncertainties have contributed to disagreements in the literature between theory and measurement.  To study the effect of particle morphology of insoluble surfaces on their CCN activity, the water content on a model atmospheric insoluble aerosol, 500 nm Polybead® polyhydroxylate microspheres (PHS), was measured as a function of relative humidity (RH) using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) equipped with a flow cell.  Results are compared to optical quantitative analysis of water adsorption on the same PHS sample using a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer and modeled using a standard Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) and Frenkel, Halsey, and Hill (FHH) adsorption model.  Application of adsorption activation theory and comparison to CCN activity measurements suggest that discrepancies between CCN activity theory and measurement are due to surface morphology of insoluble aerosols.

Gravimetric measurements of water adsorption on polyhydroxylate nanospheres using a quartz crystal microbalance

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.