Wet and dry sizes of atmospheric aerosol particles: An AFM‐TEM Study

We studied the hygroscopic behavior of atmospheric aerosols by using a novel approach, the combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM) with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging of the same individual particles. By comparing the dimensions of hydrated and dry ammonium sulfate particles col...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Pósfai, Mihály, Xu, Huifang, Anderson, James R., Buseck, Peter R.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Geophysical Union (AGU) 1998
Subjects:
QD06 Mineralogy / ásványtan
QE Geology / földtudományok
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://real.mtak.hu/3425/
https://real.mtak.hu/3425/1/1039015.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1029/98GL01416
Description
Summary:We studied the hygroscopic behavior of atmospheric aerosols by using a novel approach, the combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM) with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging of the same individual particles. By comparing the dimensions of hydrated and dry ammonium sulfate particles collected above the North Atlantic Ocean, we determined that particle volumes are up to four times larger under ambient conditions (as determined by AFM) than in the vacuum of a transmission electron microscope. We interpret these changes as resulting from the loss of water. Organic films on the particles may be responsible for the relatively large water uptake at low relative humidities.

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