Understanding transformation mechanisms at the nanoscale is of paramount importance to a myriad of geochemical and physical phenomena, ranging from aerosol particle nucleation, particle morphology changes, and particle aggregation to nanoparticle synthesis. Most commonly, mesoscale or bulk scale techniques are applied to these problems, and these studies are often performed with limited time resolution. Time resolved transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has long been a key component of materials research, however the use of this technique has been applied to geochemistry in a limited fashion. In this talk, the application of in situ TEM is discussed in the context of aerosol particle transformations. Case studies of key gaseous environments and relative humidity effects on nanoparticle growth, morphological evolution in aerosols, and surface chemistry in oxides, atmospherically relevant aerosols, and nanocatalysts will be presented. These results show the utility of dynamic atomic to nanoscale analysis in both materials science and geochemistry, and reveal a promise for bridging gaps between theory and experiment in mechanistic understanding relevant surface and interfacial phenomena.

Toward predictive geochemistry: Time resolved, high resolution studies of atmospheric particle transformations

251st National Meeting (2016)

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