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El Haber M, Gérard V, Kleinheins J, Ferronato C, Nozière B. Measuring the Surface Tension of Atmospheric Particles and Relevant Mixtures to Better Understand Key Atmospheric Processes. Chem Rev 2024. [PMID: 39177157 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.4c00173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/24/2024]
Abstract
Aerosol and aqueous particles are ubiquitous in Earth's atmosphere and play key roles in geochemical processes such as natural chemical cycles, cloud and fog formation, air pollution, visibility, climate forcing, etc. The surface tension of atmospheric particles can affect their size distribution, condensational growth, evaporation, and exchange of chemicals with the atmosphere, which, in turn, are important in the above-mentioned geochemical processes. However, because measuring this quantity is challenging, its role in atmospheric processes was dismissed for decades. Over the last 15 years, this field of research has seen some tremendous developments and is rapidly evolving. This review presents the state-of-the-art of this subject focusing on the experimental approaches. It also presents a unique inventory of experimental adsorption isotherms for over 130 mixtures of organic compounds in water of relevance for model development and validation. Potential future areas of research seeking to better determine the surface tension of atmospheric particles, better constrain laboratory investigations, or better understand the role of surface tension in various atmospheric processes, are discussed. We hope that this review appeals not only to atmospheric scientists but also to researchers from other fields, who could help identify new approaches and solutions to the current challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuella El Haber
- Institut de Recherches sur l'Environnement et la Catalyse de Lyon (IRCELYON), CNRS and Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne 69626, France
| | - Violaine Gérard
- Institut de Recherches sur l'Environnement et la Catalyse de Lyon (IRCELYON), CNRS and Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne 69626, France
| | - Judith Kleinheins
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Corinne Ferronato
- Institut de Recherches sur l'Environnement et la Catalyse de Lyon (IRCELYON), CNRS and Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne 69626, France
| | - Barbara Nozière
- Department of Chemistry, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm 114 28, Sweden
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Kleinheins J, Marcolli C, Dutcher CS, Shardt N. A unified surface tension model for multi-component salt, organic, and surfactant solutions. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:17521-17538. [PMID: 38884303 PMCID: PMC11202313 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp00678j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Despite the fact that the surface tension of liquid mixtures is of great importance in numerous fields and applications, there are no accurate models for calculating the surface tension of solutions containing water, salts, organic, and amphiphilic substances in a mixture. This study presents such a model and demonstrates its capabilities by modelling surface tension data from the literature. The presented equations not only allow to model solutions with ideal mixing behaviour but also non-idealities and synergistic effects can be identified and largely reproduced. In total, 22 ternary systems comprising 1842 data points could be modelled with an overall root mean squared error (RMSE) of 3.09 mN m-1. In addition, based on the modelling of ternary systems, the surface tension of two quaternary systems could be well predicted with RMSEs of 1.66 mN m-1 and 3.44 mN m-1. Besides its ability to accurately fit and predict multi-component surface tension data, the model also allows to analyze the nature and magnitude of bulk and surface non-idealities, helping to improve our understanding of the physicochemical mechanisms that influence surface tension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Kleinheins
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Claudia Marcolli
- Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Cari S Dutcher
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Nadia Shardt
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491 Trondheim, Norway
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El Haber M, Ferronato C, Giroir-Fendler A, Fine L, Nozière B. Salting out, non-ideality and synergism enhance surfactant efficiency in atmospheric aerosols. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20672. [PMID: 38001267 PMCID: PMC10673862 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48040-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
In Earth's atmosphere, the surface tension of sub-micron aerosol particles is suspected to affect their efficiency in becoming cloud droplets. But this quantity cannot be measured directly and is inferred from the chemical compounds present in aerosols. Amphiphilic surfactants have been evidenced in aerosols but experimental information on the surface properties of their mixtures with other aerosol components is lacking. This work explores experimentally the surface properties of aqueous mixtures of amphiphilic surfactants (SDS, Brij35, TritonX100, TritonX114, and CTAC) with inorganic salts (NaCl, (NH4)2SO4) and soluble organic acids (oxalic and glutaric acid) using pendant droplet tensiometry. Contrary to what could be expected, inorganic salts and organic acids systematically enhanced the efficiency of the surfactants rather than reduced it, by further lowering the surface tension and, in some cases, the CMC. Furthermore, all the mixtures studied were strongly non-ideal, some even displaying some synergism, thus demonstrating that the common assumption of ideality for aerosol mixtures is not valid. The molecular interactions between the mixture components were either in the bulk (salting out), in the mixed surface monolayer (synergy on the surface tension) or in the micelles (synergy on the CMC) and need to be included when describing such aerosol mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuella El Haber
- Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, IRCELYON UMR 5256 CNRS, 69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Corinne Ferronato
- Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, IRCELYON UMR 5256 CNRS, 69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Anne Giroir-Fendler
- Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, IRCELYON UMR 5256 CNRS, 69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Ludovic Fine
- Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, IRCELYON UMR 5256 CNRS, 69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Barbara Nozière
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Bain A, Ghosh K, Prisle NL, Bzdek BR. Surface-Area-to-Volume Ratio Determines Surface Tensions in Microscopic, Surfactant-Containing Droplets. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2023; 9:2076-2083. [PMID: 38033804 PMCID: PMC10683496 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.3c00998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
The surface composition of aerosol droplets is central to predicting cloud droplet number concentrations, understanding atmospheric pollutant transformation, and interpreting observations of accelerated droplet chemistry. Due to the large surface-area-to-volume ratios of aerosol droplets, adsorption of surfactant at the air-liquid interface can deplete the droplet's bulk concentration, leading to droplet surface compositions that do not match those of the solutions that produced them. Through direct measurements of individual surfactant-containing, micrometer-sized droplet surface tensions, and fully independent predictive thermodynamic modeling of droplet surface tension, we demonstrate that, for strong surfactants, the droplet's surface-area-to-volume ratio becomes the key factor in determining droplet surface tension rather than differences in surfactant properties. For the same total surfactant concentration, the surface tension of a droplet can be >40 mN/m higher than that of the macroscopic solution that produced it. These observations indicate that an explicit consideration of surface-area-to-volume ratios is required when investigating heterogeneous chemical reactivity at the surface of aerosol droplets or estimating aerosol activation to cloud droplets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison Bain
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, United Kingdom
| | - Kunal Ghosh
- Center
for Atmospheric Research, University of
Oulu, Oulu 90014, Finland
| | - Nønne L. Prisle
- Center
for Atmospheric Research, University of
Oulu, Oulu 90014, Finland
| | - Bryan R. Bzdek
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, United Kingdom
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Bain A, Chan MN, Bzdek BR. Physical properties of short chain aqueous organosulfate aerosol. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: ATMOSPHERES 2023; 3:1365-1373. [PMID: 38013727 PMCID: PMC10500313 DOI: 10.1039/d3ea00088e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Organosulfates comprise up to 30% of the organic fraction of aerosol. Organosulfate aerosol physical properties, such as water activity, density, refractive index, and surface tension, are key to predicting their impact on global climate. However, current understanding of these properties is limited. Here, we measure the physical properties of aqueous solutions containing sodium methyl or ethyl sulfate and parameterise the data as a function of solute concentration. The experimental data are compared to available literature data for organosulfates, as well as salts (sodium sulfate and sodium bisulfate) and organics (short alkyl chain length alcohols and carboxylic acids) to determine if the physical properties of organosulfates can be approximated by molecules of similar functionality. With the exception of water activity, we find that organosulfates have intermediate physical properties between those of the salts and short alkyl chain organics. This work highlights the importance of measuring and developing models for the physical properties of abundant atmospheric organosulfates in order to better describe aerosol's impact on climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison Bain
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol Bristol UK
| | - Man Nin Chan
- Earth System Science Programme, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
- The Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China
| | - Bryan R Bzdek
- School of Chemistry, University of Bristol Bristol UK
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Burdette TC, Bramblett RL, Zimmermann K, Frossard AA. Influence of Air Mass Source Regions on Signatures of Surface-Active Organic Molecules in Size Resolved Atmospheric Aerosol Particles. ACS EARTH & SPACE CHEMISTRY 2023; 7:1578-1591. [PMID: 37609122 PMCID: PMC10441572 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
The physical and chemical properties of atmospheric aerosol particles depend on their sources and lifetime in the atmosphere. In coastal regions, sources may include influences from marine, continental, anthropogenic, and natural emissions. In this study, particles in ten diameter-size ranges were collected, and particle number size distributions were measured, at Skidaway Island, GA in May and June 2018. Based on air mass back trajectories and concentrations of major ions in the particles, the air mass source regions were identified as Marine Influenced, Mixed, and Continental Influenced. Organic molecules were extracted from the particles using solid-phase extraction and characterized using tensiometry and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The presence of surfactants was confirmed in the extracts through the observation of significant surface tension depressions. The organic formulas contained high hydrogen-to-carbon (H/C) and low oxygen-to-carbon (O/C) ratios, similar to surfactants and lipid-like molecules. In the Marine Influenced particles, the fraction of formulas identified as surfactant-like was negatively correlated with minimum surface tensions; as the surfactant fraction increased, the surface tension decreased. Analyses of fatty acid compounds demonstrated that organic compounds extracted from the Marine Influenced particles had the highest carbon numbers (18), compared to those of the Mixed (15) and Continental Influenced (9) particles. This suggests that the fatty acids in the Continental Influenced particles may have been more aged in the atmosphere and undergone fragmentation. This is one of the first studies to measure the chemical and physical properties of surfactants in size-resolved particles from different air mass source regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tret C. Burdette
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30606, United States
| | - Rachel L. Bramblett
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30606, United States
| | - Kathryn Zimmermann
- Department
of Chemistry, Georgia Gwinnett College, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043, United States
| | - Amanda A. Frossard
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30606, United States
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Gen M, Hibara A, Phung PN, Miyazaki Y, Mochida M. In Situ Surface Tension Measurement of Deliquesced Aerosol Particles. J Phys Chem A 2023; 127:6100-6108. [PMID: 37462410 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c02681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
The surface tension of aerosol particles can potentially affect cloud droplet activation. Hence, direct measurement of the surface tensions of deliquesced aerosol particles is essential but is challenging. Here, we report in situ surface tension measurements based on a novel method that couples a linear quadrupole electrodynamic balance (EDB) with quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS). The EDB-QELS is validated using surface tension measurements of atmospherically relevant inorganic and organic droplets. The surface tension results reasonably agree with the reference values in the range of ∼50-90 mN m-1. We find a significant size dependence for sodium chloride droplets containing surface-active species (sodium dodecyl sulfate) in the size range of ∼5-18 μm. The surface tension increases from ∼55 to 80 mN m-1 with decreased size. Relative humidity (RH)-dependent surface tensions of mixed ammonium sulfate (AS) and polyethylene glycol droplets reveal the onset of liquid-liquid phase separation. Droplets containing water-soluble matter extracted from ambient aerosol samples and 2.3-2.9 M AS exhibit a ∼30% reduction in surface tension in the presence of ∼50 mmol-C L-1 water-soluble organic carbon, compared to pure water (∼72 mN m-1). The approach can offer size-resolved and RH-dependent surface tension measurements of deliquesced aerosol particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masao Gen
- Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
| | - Akihide Hibara
- Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
- Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-W4-19 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Phuong Nguyet Phung
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
| | - Yuzo Miyazaki
- Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan
| | - Michihiro Mochida
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
- Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
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Ciglenečki I, Orlović-Leko P, Vidović K, Tasić V. The possible role of the surface active substances (SAS) in the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 198:111215. [PMID: 33939977 PMCID: PMC9750166 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Surface active substances (SAS) have the potential to form films at different interfaces, consequently influencing the interfacial properties of atmospheric particulate matter (PM). They can be derived from both human activities and natural processes and can be found in an indoor and outdoor environment. This paper's fundamental question is the possible role of the SAS in stabilizing respiratory aerosols in the closed space. In that context, we discuss results of preliminary measurements of the SAS and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in the water-soluble fractions of PM2.5 and PM10 that were sampled simultaneously in primary school inside and outside of the building. The concentrations of SAS were determined using highly sensitive electrochemical measurements. It was observed that SAS and DOC concentrations have been enhanced indoor in both PM fractions. Consistent with these results, a discussion arises on the possibility that SAS could play a crucial role in respiratory droplet dispersion as stabilizers, especially in a closed space. At the same time, we assume that they could prolong the lifetime of respiratory aerosols and as well viability of some (possible SARS-CoV-2) virus inside of the droplets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena Ciglenečki
- Ruđer Bošković Institute, Laboratory fot Physical Oceanography and Chemistry od Aquatic Systems, Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Palma Orlović-Leko
- Ruđer Bošković Institute, Laboratory fot Physical Oceanography and Chemistry od Aquatic Systems, Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Kristijan Vidović
- Ruđer Bošković Institute, Laboratory fot Physical Oceanography and Chemistry od Aquatic Systems, Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Zagreb, Croatia; National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, SI, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Viša Tasić
- Mining and Metallurgy Institute, Bor, Serbia
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Abstract
Atmospheric aerosol particles cool Earth’s climate by serving as cloud droplet seeds. This cooling effect represents both the single most uncertain and the largest negative radiative forcing. Cloud droplet activation is strongly influenced by aerosol particle surface tension, which in climate models is assumed equivalent to that of pure water. We directly measure the surface tensions of surfactant-coated, high surface-to-volume ratio droplets, demonstrating that their surface tensions are significantly lower than pure water but do not match the surface tension of the solution from which they were produced and depend on finite droplet size. These results suggest surfactants could potentially significantly modify radiative forcing and highlight the need for a better understanding of atmospheric surfactant concentrations and properties. Surface tension influences the fraction of atmospheric particles that become cloud droplets. Although surfactants are an important component of aerosol mass, the surface tension of activating aerosol particles is still unresolved, with most climate models assuming activating particles have a surface tension equal to that of water. By studying picoliter droplet coalescence, we demonstrate that surfactants can significantly reduce the surface tension of finite-sized droplets below the value for water, consistent with recent field measurements. Significantly, this surface tension reduction is droplet size-dependent and does not correspond exactly to the macroscopic solution value. A fully independent monolayer partitioning model confirms the observed finite-size-dependent surface tension arises from the high surface-to-volume ratio in finite-sized droplets and enables predictions of aerosol hygroscopic growth. This model, constrained by the laboratory measurements, is consistent with a reduction in critical supersaturation for activation, potentially substantially increasing cloud droplet number concentration and modifying radiative cooling relative to current estimates assuming a water surface tension. The results highlight the need for improved constraints on the identities, properties, and concentrations of atmospheric aerosol surfactants in multiple environments and are broadly applicable to any discipline where finite volume effects are operative, such as studies of the competition between reaction rates within the bulk and at the surface of confined volumes and explorations of the influence of surfactants on dried particle morphology from spray driers.
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