Chemical Kinetics of the Interaction of H2O Vapor with Soot in the Range 190 K ≤ T ≤ 300 K: A Diffusion Tube Study

Measurement of naphthalene uptake by combustion soot particles

In this study, we designed and constructed an experimental laboratory apparatus to measure the uptake of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by soot particles. Results for the uptake of naphthalene (C10H8) by soot particles typical of those found in the exhaust of an aircraft engine are reported in this paper. The naphthalene concentration in the gas phase and naphthalene attached to the particles were measured simultaneously by a heated flame ionization detector (HFID) and a time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (ToF AMS), respectively. The uptake coefficient for naphthalene on soot of (1.11 ± 0.06) × 10(-5) at 293 K was determined by fitting the HFID and AMS measurements of gaseous and particulate naphthalene to a kinetic model of uptake. When the gaseous concentration of naphthalene is kept below the saturation limit during these experiments, the uptake of naphthalene can be considered the dry mass accommodation coefficient.

The use of heterogeneous chemistry for the characterization of functional groups at the gas/particle interface of soot and TiO2 nanoparticles

Six gases [N(CH(3))(3), NH(2)OH, CF(3)COOH, HCl, NO(2) and O(3)] were selected to probe the surface of seven different types of combustion aerosol samples (amorphous carbon, flame soot) and three types of TiO(2) nanoparticles using heterogeneous, i.e. gas-surface reactions. The gas uptake to saturation of the probes was measured under molecular flow conditions in a Knudsen flow reactor and expressed as a density of surface functional groups on a particular aerosol, namely acidic (carboxylic) and basic (conjugated oxides such as pyrone, N-heterocycle and amine) sites, carbonyl (R(1)-C(O)-R(2)) and oxidizable (olefinic, -OH) groups. The limit of detection was generally well below 1% of a formal monolayer of adsorbed probe gas. With few exceptions most investigated aerosol samples interacted with all probe gases to various extents which points to the coexistence of different functional groups on the same aerosol surface such as acidic and basic groups. Generally, the carbonaceous particles displayed significant differences in surface group density: Printex 60 amorphous carbon had the lowest density of surface functional groups throughout, whereas Diesel soot recovered from a Diesel particulate filter had the largest. The presence of basic oxides on carbonaceous aerosol particles was inferred from the ratio of uptakes of CF(3)COOH and HCl owing to the larger stability of the acetate compared to the chloride counterion in the resulting pyrylium salt. Both soots generated from a rich and a lean hexane diffusion flame had a large density of oxidizable groups similar to amorphous carbon FS 101. TiO(2) 15 had the lowest density of functional groups studied for all probe gases among the three TiO(2) nanoparticles despite the smallest size of its primary particles. The technique used enabled the measurement of the uptake probability of the probe gases on the various supported aerosol samples. The initial uptake probability, gamma(0), of the probe gas onto the supported nanoparticles differed significantly among the various investigated aerosol samples but was roughly correlated with the density of surface groups, as expected.

Heterogeneous Chemistry of Organic Acids on Soot Surfaces

We have investigated the heterogeneous interaction between a number of carboxylic acids and soot generated from different fuel sources and formation mechanisms. A low-pressure fast flow reactor in conjunction with ion drift-chemical ionization mass spectrometry detection was employed to study uptake of monocarboxylic (benzoic, oleic, and steric) and dicarboxylic (glutaric, maleic, oxalic, and phthalic) acids on deposited soot surfaces formed by combustion of methane, propane, and kerosene. Most acids exhibited irreversible uptake on the soot surfaces and the uptake coefficient was measured in the range of 9 x 10(-4) to 1 x 10(-1) estimated based on the geometric surface areas. Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller surface areas of the deposited soot surfaces were measured and the soot bulk and surface chemical compositions were evaluated with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and attenuated total reflection spectroscopy. Plausible uptake mechanisms were discussed on the basis of the measured soot physiochemical properties by comparing the mono and dicarboxylic acids.