Nanoparticle Detection Using Microplasma

CBET-0755761霍普伍德微等离子体可以为监测环境中空气中的纳米粒子提供一种良性和经济的放射性同位素替代品。目前，这种监测既困难又昂贵。然而，这对于评估人工合成和自然产生的纳米颗粒的潜在健康影响是至关重要的。目前的纳米粒子检测系统依赖于放射性同位素，但这些系统太大且成本太高，无法在实验室环境外实际使用，此外还存在围绕放射性同位素使用的健康、环境和安全问题。这项研究项目旨在发展脉冲微等离子体中纳米颗粒充电和放电的基础知识。微等离子体是电离气体的微观区域；例如，等离子电视中的单个像素就是微等离子体。这种微等离子体可以取代使用放射性同位素给纳米粒子充电，这样做可以根据大小对它们进行检测和分类。微等离子体的实验室表征将与计算机模拟相结合。这些实验将确定从微等离子体中排出的粒子的电荷分布，以揭示纳米粒子放电的科学。然后，所有这些基本数据将被用于设计和演示粒子探测系统，该系统将对微等离子体中的粒子进行充电和浓缩。利用微等离子体对放射性同位素进行置换，可以提高纳米粒子检测的安全性和实用性，具有较好的经济效益和社会效益。对微等离子体的基本了解的提高也将加强化学分析领域，该领域目前正开始将微等离子体设备纳入分析化学仪器。该计划通过在本科生和研究生水平上发展应用物理方面的人类专业知识来加强技术基础设施。

CBET-0755761HopwoodMicroplasmas could provide a benign and economical alternative to radioisotopes for monitoring airborne nanoparticles in the environment. Such monitoring is presently difficult and expensive. However, it is crucial for assessing potential health effects of synthetic and naturally occurring nanoparticles. Present nanoparticle detection systems rely on radioisotopes, but these systems are too large and costly for practical use outside of the laboratory setting, in addition to the health, environmental, and security issues that surround the use of radioisotopes. This research project seeks to develop fundamental knowledge of the charging and de-charging of nanoparticles in pulsed microplasmas. A microplasma is a microscopic region of ionized gas; for example, a single pixel in a plasma television is a microplasma. Such microplasmas could replace the use of radioisotopes for charging nanoparticles electrically, which is done so they can be detected and classified by size.Laboratory characterization of microplasmas will be combined with computer simulations. The experiments will determine the electrical charge distribution of particles expelled from a microplasma in order to reveal the science of nanoparticle de-charging. All these fundamental data will then be applied to design and demonstrate a particle detection system that would charge and concentrate particles within a microplasma. The accumulated particles could then be periodically expelled and analyzed according to the microplasma-induced charge state.Replacement of radioisotopes by microplasmas will increase the safety and utility of nanoparticle detection, producing both an economic and societal benefit. The improved fundamental understanding of the microplasma will also strengthen the field of chemical analysis, which is currently beginning to incorporate microplasma devices into analytical chemistry instrumentation. The program strengthens the technological infrastructure by developing human expertise in applied physics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.