Application of Fluorescence Spectroscopy To Study the State of Water in Aerosols

Micro-droplet Trapping and Manipulation: Understanding Aerosol Better for a Healthier Environment

Understanding the physicochemical properties and heterogeneous processes of aerosols is key not only to elucidate the impacts of aerosols on the atmosphere and humans but also to exploit their further applications, especially for a healthier environment. Experiments that allow for spatially control of single aerosol particles and investigations on the fundamental properties and heterogeneous chemistry at the single-particle level have flourished during the last few decades, and significant breakthroughs in recent years promise better control and novel applications aimed at resolving key issues in aerosol science. Here we propose graphene oxide (GO) aerosols as prototype aerosols containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and GO can behave as two-dimensional surfactants which could modify the interfacial properties of aerosols. We describe the techniques of trapping single particles and furthermore the current status of the optical spectroscopy and chemistry of GO. The current applications of these single-particle trapping techniques are summarized and interesting future applications of GO aerosols are discussed.

Reconciling Measurement and Prediction of Free and Solvated Water in Solution

In 2019, Wexler showed that, by applying Raoult's law rigorously to aqueous solutions and properly accounting for hydration of solutes, equations can be derived that accurately describe solute and solvent activity over the full range of concentrations from infinitely dilute to pure solutes. One feature of this theory is that it also predicts the amount of water that is free and the amount that is bound to the solute. In 2004 and 2005, Choi and co-workers used an electrodynamic balance to measure (i) the concentration of a range of organic and electrolyte solutes as a function of water activity and (ii) the amount of free and bound water in these solutions using the fluorescence of pyranine as a probe. In the current work, we compare the predictions of Wexler's theory to the measurements of Choi. After the adjustments to the amount of free water obtained by these measurements, the predictions of Wexler's theory match the measurements of Choi. The potential reasons for the adjustments are discussed.

Phase transitions and surface morphology of surfactant-coated aerosol particles

Probe molecule spectroscopy and hygroscopic growth curves characterize the morphology of surfactant-coated aerosol particles as a function of relative humidity (RH). This study focuses on particles composed of either potassium iodide or sodium chloride and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). At high RH, these mixed particles assume a reverse micelle type structure, and at low RH, they comprise a solid core of either KI or NaCl coated with SDS and water. The deliquescence relative humidity (DRH) and efflorescence relative humidity (ERH) of the inorganic fraction of the mixed particles are very similar to those of the pure salts. The surface polarity and morphology sampled by the coumarin 314 probe molecule ranges from that of a water-organic interface to that of an ionic surface and depends strongly on the RH and the amount of SDS. When the SDS coverage of the droplet just prior to efflorescence reaches approximately one monolayer, a thin soap film persists on the surface to values of RH much lower than the ERH. Both the electronic spectroscopy and photoelectric charging efficiency show a separate efflorescence for this layer at RH < 5%. The spectroscopy further reveals that there is a hysteresis associated with this low RH phase transition for both KI and NaCl cores.

Spectroscopy of Growing and Evaporating Water Droplets: Exploring the Variation in Equilibrium Droplet Size with Relative Humidity

We demonstrate that the thermodynamic properties of a single liquid aerosol droplet can be explored through the combination of a single-beam gradient force optical trap with Raman spectroscopy. A single aqueous droplet, 2-6 microm in radius, can be trapped in air indefinitely and the response of the particle to variations in relative humidity investigated. The Raman spectrum provides a unique fingerprint of droplet composition, temperature, and size. Spontaneous Raman scattering is shown to be consistent with that from a bulk phase sample, with the shape of the OH stretching band dependent on the concentration of sodium chloride in the aqueous phase and on the polarization of the scattered light. Stimulated Raman scattering at wavelengths commensurate with whispering gallery modes is demonstrated to provide a method for determining the size of the trapped droplet with nanometer precision and with a time resolution of 1 s. The polarization dependence of the stimulated scatter is consistent with the dependence observed for the spontaneous scatter from the droplet. By characterizing the spontaneous and stimulated Raman scattering from the droplet, we demonstrate that it is possible to measure the equilibrium size and composition of an aqueous droplet with variation in relative humidity. For this benchmark study we investigate the variation in equilibrium size with relative humidity for a simple binary sodium chloride/aqueous aerosol, a typical representative inorganic/aqueous aerosol that has been studied extensively in the literature. The measured equilibrium sizes are shown to be in excellent agreement with the predictions of Köhler theory. We suggest that this approach could provide an important new strategy for characterizing the thermodynamic properties and kinetics of transformation of aerosol particles.

A Comparative Study of the Mass and Heat Transfer Dynamics of Evaporating Ethanol/Water, Methanol/Water, and 1-Propanol/Water Aerosol Droplets

The mass and heat transfer dynamics of evaporating multicomponent alcohol/water droplets have been probed experimentally by examining changes in the near surface droplet composition and average droplet temperature using cavity-enhanced Raman scattering (CERS) and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The CERS technique provides a sensitive measure of the concentration of the volatile alcohol component in the outer shell of the droplet, due to the exponential relationship between CERS intensity and species concentration. Such volatile droplets, which are probed on a millisecond time scale, evaporate nonisothermally, resulting in both temperature and concentration gradients, as confirmed by comparisons between experimental measurements and quasi-steady state model calculations. An excellent agreement between the experimental evaporation trends and quasi-steady state model predictions is observed. An unexpectedly slow evaporation rate is observed for the evaporation of 1-propanol from a multicomponent droplet when compared to the model; possible explanations for this observation are discussed. In addition, the propagation depth of the CERS signal, and, therefore, the region of the droplet from which compositional measurements are made, can be estimated. Such measurements, when considered in conjunction with quasi-steady state theory, can allow droplet temperature gradients to be measured and vapor pressures and activity coefficients of components within the droplet to be determined.

Investigation of Efflorescence of Inorganic Aerosols Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy

The phase transition is one of the most fundamental phenomena affecting the physical and chemical properties of atmospheric aerosols. Efflorescence, in particular, is not well understood, partly because the molecular interactions between the solute and water molecules of saturated or supersaturated solution droplets have not been well characterized. Recently, we developed a technique that combines the use of an electrodynamic balance and a fluorescence dye, 8-hydroxyl-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulfonate (pyranine), to study the distributions of solvated and free water in aqueous droplets (Choi, M. Y.; Chan, C. K.; Zhang, Y. H. J. Phys. Chem. A 2004, 108, 1133). We found that the equality of the amounts of solvated and free water is a necessary but not sufficient condition for efflorescence. For efflorescing compounds such as Na2SO4, (NH4)2SO4, and a mixture of NaCl and Na2SO4, the amount of free water decreases, while that of solvated water is roughly constant in bulk measurements and decreases less dramatically than that of free water in single-particle measurements as the relative humidity (RH) decreases. Efflorescence of the supersaturated droplets of these solutions occurs when the amounts of free and solvated water are equal, which is consistent with our previous observation for NaCl. For nonefflorescing compounds in single-particle levitation experiments such as MgSO4 and Mg(NO3)2, the amounts of free and solvated water are equal at a water-to-solute molar ratio of about 6, at which spectral changes due to the formation of contact ion pairs between magnesium and the anions occur as shown by Raman spectroscopy. Fluorescence imaging shows that the droplets of diluted Mg(NO3)2 (at 80% RH) and MgSO4 are homogeneous but those of NaCl, Na2SO4, (NH4)2SO4, and supersaturated Mg(NO3)2 (at 10% RH) are heterogeneous in terms of the solvated-to-free water distribution. The solvated-to-free water ratios in NaCl, Na2SO4, and (NH4)2SO4 droplets are higher in the outer regions by about half a radius deep than at the center of the droplets.

Comparison of CBS-QB3, CBS-APNO, G2, and G3 thermochemical predictions with experiment for formation of ionic clusters of hydronium and hydroxide ions complexed with water

The GAUSSIAN 2, GAUSSIAN 3, complete basis set-QB3, and complete basis set-APNO methods have been used to calculate DeltaH( composite function) and DeltaG( composite function) values for ionic clusters of hydronium and hydroxide ions complexed with water. Results for the clusters H3O+(H2O)n and OH-(H2O)n, where n=1-4 are reported in this paper, and compared against experimental values contained in the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) database. Agreement with experiment is excellent for the three ab initio methods for formation of these clusters. The high accuracy of these methods makes them reliable for calculating energetics for the formation of ionic clusters containing water. In addition this allows them to serve as a valuable check on the accuracy of experimental data reported in the NIST database, and makes them useful tools for addressing unresolved issues in atmospheric chemistry.