NIRT: Clusters to Nanoparticles: Implications for Atmospheric Nucleation

该项目将尝试从实验上阐明大气中稳定核形成的化学和物理过程，并开发更现实的大气粒子成核模型。这一方法依赖于两个仪器系统的开发和改进，即团簇化学电离质谱仪系统和纳米粒子扫描迁移率光谱仪。这些仪器将被用来用质谱仪测量大小达1000个原子质量单位的大型新成核星团的化学成分。这些仪器将同时测量小至1纳米的纳米颗粒范围内的颗粒尺寸分布和物理化学性质。这项研究的结果有望有助于解决与地球反照率和大气中不同高度气溶胶影响的辐射平衡有关的广泛问题。仪器开发和成核现象形成方面的新见解都将使纳米科学的其他领域受益。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.