NIRT: Clusters to Nanoparticles: Implications for Atmospheric Nucleation

该项目将试图通过实验阐明大气中稳定核形成的化学和物理过程，并为大气粒子成核开发更现实的模型。该方法依赖于两种仪器系统的发展和改进，一种是簇化化学电离质谱仪系统，另一种是纳米粒子扫描迁移谱仪。这些仪器将用于用质谱仪测量大的、新成核的团簇的化学成分，其大小可达1000个原子质量单位。这些仪器将同时测量纳米颗粒范围内的颗粒尺寸分布，小至一纳米，以及物理化学性质。这项研究的结果有望帮助解决与地球反照率和辐射平衡有关的广泛问题，这些问题受到大气中不同高度气溶胶的影响。仪器的发展和成核现象公式的新见解将有利于纳米尺度科学的其他领域。研究生和本科生都将从这项研究活动中获得经验。

This project will attempt to experimentally elucidate the chemical and physical processes responsible for the formation of stable nuclei in the atmosphere, and to develop more realistic models for atmospheric particle nucleation. The approach depends on the development and refinement of two instrumental systems, a cluster chemical ionization mass spectrometer system and a nanoparticle scanning mobility spectrometer. These instruments will be used to measure the chemical composition of large, newly-nucleated clusters up to 1000 atomic mass units in size with a mass spectrometer. The instruments will simultaneously measure particle size distributions in the nano-particle range down to one nanometer, and physicochemical properties.The results of this research are expected to help address broad issues relating to the earth's albedo and radiation balance affected by aerosols at various altitudes in the atmosphere. Both instrument development and new insights in the formulation of nucleation phenomena will benefit other areas of nanoscale science. Students at both the graduate and undergraduate level will gain experience from this research activity.