The development of new single particle analysis tools continues to be an area of great interest owing to the unique insights into the complex chemistry of atmospheric, astrophysical and industrially relevant systems that involve nanoparticles and aerosols. A research program involving complementary studies of the growth, phase and chemistry of single-particles in an atmospheric pressure quadrupole ion trap (QIT) as well as a novel aerosol impact spectrometer (AIS) for examining the impact dynamics of single nanoparticles on a variety of targets will be reviewed. The QIT provides optical access to single trapped particles in the 20 micron size range, allowing measurements of hygroscopicity and phase changes under controlled conditions. The systems currently of interest are sea spray aerosol mimics, and the initial results will be reviewed. The AIS is being used to carry out hypervelocity impact studies of single submicron size range nanoparticles providing insights into composition, structure and impact dynamics. An essential element of the AIS is charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS), a method for determining the mass and charge of single particles, in the teraDalton mass range, in real time.  Using this technique, particles generated from sources such as laser ablation, corona needle discharge, and electrospray ionization can be trapped, mass- and charge-analyzed, and accelerated to a specific final velocity prior to impact on targets of interest. Real-time mass and charge analysis is achieved by trapping single particles in an electrostatic trap and carrying out Fourier transform mass spectrometry using a transient digitizer interfaced to a field-programmable gate array in real-time. With this information, a specific pulse sequence is determined for acceleration of the particle in a linear accelerator, allowing for single-particle impact experiments in which the velocity, energy, mass, and charge of the particle are well known.  Applications of this technique to the impact of tin and LaB<sub>6</sub> nanoparticles on metallic substrates and single-crystal diamond targets will be reviewed. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation MRI program under grant CHE-129690 and the Center for Aerosol Impacts on Climate and the Environment (CAICE) through the NSF Centers of Chemical Innovation Program under award CHE-1305427.<br/>

Studies of the structure, dynamics and collisions of single nanoparticles

251st National Meeting (2016)

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