Aerosol particles are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and significantly affect cloud formation, precipitation, climate, and human health. Aerosol particles can facilitate heterogenous ice formation in the troposphere by acting as ice nuclei, but not every particle has the same ice nucleation activity. Engineered materials were used as model ice nuclei to investigate individual surface factors related to ice nucleation and freezing activity of aerosols. These samples were investigated using an immersion freezing chamber to measure their ice nucleation activities. This works helps clarify the role that pores, crystallinity, composition and surface functional groups play in model aerosol systems.

Surface features of model aerosol particles affect immersion nucleation and freezing

ACS Spring 2022

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