Particle Size Magnifier for Nano-CN Detection

A new particle size magnifier (PSM) for detection of nano-CN as small as ∼1 nm in mobility diameter was developed, calibrated and tested in atmospheric measurements. The working principle of a PSM is to mix turbulently cooled sample flow with heated clean air flow saturated by the working fluid. This provides a high saturation ratio for the working fluid and activates the seed particles and grows them by condensation of the working fluid. In order to reach high saturation ratios, and thus to activate nano-CN without homogeneous nucleation, diethylene glycol was chosen as the working fluid. The PSM was able to grow nano-CN to mean diameter of 90 nm, after which an ordinary condensation particle counter was used to count the grown particles (TSI 3010). The stability of the PSM was found to be good making it suitable for stand-alone field measurements. Calibration results show that the detection efficiency of the prototype PSM + TSI 3010 for charged tetra-alkyl ammonium salt molecules having mobility equivalent diameters of 1.05, 1.47, 1.78, and 2.57 nm are 25, 32, 46, and 70%, respectively. The commercial version of the PSM (Airmodus A09) performed even better in the smallest sizes the detection efficiency being 51% for 1.47 nm and 67% for 1.78 nm.

[1]  Hanna Vehkamäki,et al.  Formation and growth rates of ultrafine atmospheric particles: a review of observations , 2004 .

[2]  K. Okuyama,et al.  Performance Evaluation of an Improved Particle Size Magnifier (PSM) for Single Nanoparticle Detection , 2003 .

[3]  J. Seinfeld,et al.  Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: From Air Pollution to Climate Change , 1997 .

[4]  S. Borrmann,et al.  Characterization of an Automated, Water-Based Expansion Condensation Nucleus Counter for Ultrafine Particles , 2005 .

[5]  Pasi Aalto,et al.  Aerosol formation: Atmospheric particles from organic vapours , 2002, Nature.

[6]  M. Stolzenburg,et al.  A Method for Particle Size Amplification by Water Condensation in a Laminar, Thermally Diffusive Flow , 2005 .

[7]  I. Riipinen,et al.  Applying the Condensation Particle Counter Battery (CPCB) to study the water-affinity of freshly-formed 2–9 nm particles in boreal forest , 2009 .

[8]  M. Stolzenburg,et al.  Inversion of ultrafine condensation nucleus counter pulse height distributions to obtain nanoparticle (∼3–10 nm) size distributions , 1998 .

[9]  B. Wehner,et al.  Particle counting efficiencies of new TSI condensation particle counters , 2007 .

[10]  P. Mcmurry,et al.  Ultrafine Aerosol Measurement Using a Condensation Nucleus Counter with Pulse Height Analysis , 1996 .

[11]  Peter H. McMurry,et al.  The History of Condensation Nucleus Counters , 2000 .

[12]  Peter H. McMurry,et al.  An Ultrafine Aerosol Condensation Nucleus Counter , 1991 .

[13]  Norbert Adolph Lange,et al.  Handbook of chemistry , 1944 .

[14]  I. Riipinen,et al.  The condensation particle counter battery (CPCB): A new tool to investigate the activation properties of nanoparticles , 2007 .

[15]  Gilmore J. Sem,et al.  Design and performance characteristics of three continuous-flow condensation particle counters: a summary , 2002 .

[16]  I. Riipinen,et al.  Toward Direct Measurement of Atmospheric Nucleation , 2007, Science.

[17]  C. O'Dowd,et al.  Physical characterization of aerosol particles during nucleation events , 2001 .

[18]  M. Stolzenburg,et al.  Effect of Working Fluid on Sub-2 nm Particle Detection with a Laminar Flow Ultrafine Condensation Particle Counter , 2009 .

[19]  F. Schröder,et al.  The Particle Detection Efficiency Curve of the TSI-3010 CPC as a Function of the Temperature Difference between Saturator and Condenser , 1995 .

[20]  A. Berner,et al.  A new electromobility spectrometer for the measurement of aerosol size distributions in the size range from 1 to 1000 nm , 1991 .

[21]  Turbulent mixing condensation nucleus counter , 2002 .

[22]  C. O'Dowd,et al.  Laboratory Verification of PH-CPC's Ability to Monitor Atmospheric Sub-3 nm Clusters , 2009 .

[23]  K. Lehtinen,et al.  Heterogeneous Nucleation Experiments Bridging the Scale from Molecular Ion Clusters to Nanoparticles , 2008, Science.

[24]  K. W. Lee,et al.  Deposition of particles in turbulent pipe flows , 1994 .

[25]  L. Magnusson,et al.  Correlations for Vapor Nucleating Critical Embryo Parameters , 2003 .

[26]  K. Okuyama,et al.  Condensational Growth of Ultrafine Aerosol Particles in a New Particle Size Magnifier , 1984 .

[27]  S. Kaufman,et al.  Water-Based Condensation Particle Counters for Environmental Monitoring of Ultrafine Particles , 2006, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[28]  P. Winkler,et al.  Condensation particle counting below 2 nm seed particle diameter and the transition from heterogeneous to homogeneous nucleation , 2008 .

[29]  J. Mora,et al.  Molecular monodisperse mobility and mass standards from electrosprays of tetra-alkyl ammonium halides , 2005 .

[30]  L. A. Sgro,et al.  A Simple Turbulent Mixing CNC for Charged Particle Detection Down to 1.2 nm , 2004 .

[31]  K. Okuyama,et al.  Development of a mixing type condensation nucleus counter , 1982 .

[32]  P. Mcmurry,et al.  White-light Detection for Nanoparticle Sizing with the TSI Ultrafine Condensation Particle Counter , 2000 .

[33]  T. Petäjä,et al.  Detection Efficiency of a Water-Based TSI Condensation Particle Counter 3785 , 2006 .

[34]  M. Gamero-Castaño,et al.  Ion-induced nucleation: Measurement of the effect of embryo’s size and charge state on the critical supersaturation , 2002 .

[35]  T. Petäjä,et al.  On Operation of the Ultra-Fine Water-Based CPC TSI 3786 and Comparison with Other TSI Models (TSI 3776, TSI 3772, TSI 3025, TSI 3010, TSI 3007) , 2008 .

[36]  Jian Wang,et al.  Fast Mixing Condensation Nucleus Counter: Application to Rapid Scanning Differential Mobility Analyzer Measurements , 2002 .

[37]  T. Petäjä,et al.  The Role of Sulfuric Acid in Atmospheric Nucleation , 2010, Science.

[38]  I. Riipinen,et al.  Applicability of condensation particle counters to measure atmospheric clusters , 2008 .

[39]  Eero Nikinmaa,et al.  Station for Measuring Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations: SMEAR , 2013 .

[40]  M. Gamero-Castaño,et al.  A CONDENSATION NUCLEUS COUNTER (CNC) SENSITIVE TO SINGLY CHARGED SUB-NANOMETER PARTICLES , 2000 .

[41]  I. Riipinen,et al.  Analysis of atmospheric neutral and charged molecular clusters in boreal forest using pulse-height CPC , 2008 .