Particles containing mixtures of organic material and inorganic salts represent a major class of particles in the atmosphere. As the relative humidity cycles in the atmosphere from high to low values, these particles can go through a range of phase transitions including crystallization (i.e., efflorescence), dissolution (i.e., deliquescence), and liquid-liquid phase separation. An accurate understanding of these phase transitions is required when predicting heterogeneous reactions on and in atmospheric particles. In the following we investigate liquid-liquid phase transitions of mixed organic-inorganic salt particles, and we show that for certain oxygen-to-carbon ratios these phase transitions occur at relative humidities between 95 and 40%.  The new interfaces produced from these phase transitions may have an important impact on atmospheric heterogeneous chemistry.

Liquid-liquid phase separations in atmospheric particles

244th National Meeting (2012)

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