Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Apr 2016)
Observation of viscosity transition in <i>α</i>-pinene secondary organic aerosol
- E. Järvinen,
- K. Ignatius,
- L. Nichman,
- T. B. Kristensen,
- C. Fuchs,
- C. R. Hoyle,
- C. R. Hoyle,
- N. Höppel,
- J. C. Corbin,
- J. Craven,
- J. Duplissy,
- S. Ehrhart,
- I. El Haddad,
- C. Frege,
- H. Gordon,
- T. Jokinen,
- P. Kallinger,
- J. Kirkby,
- J. Kirkby,
- A. Kiselev,
- K.-H. Naumann,
- T. Petäjä,
- T. Pinterich,
- A. S. H. Prevot,
- H. Saathoff,
- T. Schiebel,
- K. Sengupta,
- M. Simon,
- J. G. Slowik,
- J. Tröstl,
- A. Virtanen,
- P. Vochezer,
- S. Vogt,
- A. C. Wagner,
- R. Wagner,
- C. Williamson,
- C. Williamson,
- C. Williamson,
- P. M. Winkler,
- C. Yan,
- U. Baltensperger,
- N. M. Donahue,
- R. C. Flagan,
- M. Gallagher,
- A. Hansel,
- M. Kulmala,
- F. Stratmann,
- D. R. Worsnop,
- O. Möhler,
- T. Leisner,
- M. Schnaiter
Affiliations
- E. Järvinen
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- K. Ignatius
- Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), 04318 Leipzig, Germany
- L. Nichman
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- T. B. Kristensen
- Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), 04318 Leipzig, Germany
- C. Fuchs
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
- C. R. Hoyle
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
- C. R. Hoyle
- WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
- N. Höppel
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- J. C. Corbin
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
- J. Craven
- California institute of technology, department of chemical engineering, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
- J. Duplissy
- Helsinki Institute of Physics and University of Helsinki, Department of Physics, Helsinki, Finland
- S. Ehrhart
- CERN, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland
- I. El Haddad
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
- C. Frege
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
- H. Gordon
- CERN, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland
- T. Jokinen
- Helsinki Institute of Physics and University of Helsinki, Department of Physics, Helsinki, Finland
- P. Kallinger
- Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- J. Kirkby
- CERN, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland
- J. Kirkby
- Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Campus Riedberg Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- A. Kiselev
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- K.-H. Naumann
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- T. Petäjä
- Helsinki Institute of Physics and University of Helsinki, Department of Physics, Helsinki, Finland
- T. Pinterich
- Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- A. S. H. Prevot
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
- H. Saathoff
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- T. Schiebel
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- K. Sengupta
- University of Leeds, School of Earth and Environment, LS2-9JT Leeds, UK
- M. Simon
- Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Campus Riedberg Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- J. G. Slowik
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
- J. Tröstl
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
- A. Virtanen
- Department of Applied Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
- P. Vochezer
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- S. Vogt
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- A. C. Wagner
- Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Campus Riedberg Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- R. Wagner
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- C. Williamson
- Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Campus Riedberg Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- C. Williamson
- NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL), Chemical Sciences Division, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
- C. Williamson
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder, UCB 216, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
- P. M. Winkler
- Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- C. Yan
- Helsinki Institute of Physics and University of Helsinki, Department of Physics, Helsinki, Finland
- U. Baltensperger
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
- N. M. Donahue
- Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- R. C. Flagan
- California Institute of Technology, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
- M. Gallagher
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
- A. Hansel
- Institute for Ion and Applied Physics, 6020 Innsbruck and Ionicon Analytik GmbH, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- M. Kulmala
- Helsinki Institute of Physics and University of Helsinki, Department of Physics, Helsinki, Finland
- F. Stratmann
- Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), 04318 Leipzig, Germany
- D. R. Worsnop
- Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA 08121, USA
- O. Möhler
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- T. Leisner
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- M. Schnaiter
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, P.O. Box 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4423-2016
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 16
pp. 4423 – 4438
Abstract
Under certain conditions, secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particles can exist in the atmosphere in an amorphous solid or semi-solid state. To determine their relevance to processes such as ice nucleation or chemistry occurring within particles requires knowledge of the temperature and relative humidity (RH) range for SOA to exist in these states. In the Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets (CLOUD) experiment at The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), we deployed a new in situ optical method to detect the viscous state of α-pinene SOA particles and measured their transition from the amorphous highly viscous state to states of lower viscosity. The method is based on the depolarising properties of laboratory-produced non-spherical SOA particles and their transformation to non-depolarising spherical particles at relative humidities near the deliquescence point. We found that particles formed and grown in the chamber developed an asymmetric shape through coagulation. A transition to a spherical shape was observed as the RH was increased to between 35 % at −10 °C and 80 % at −38 °C, confirming previous calculations of the viscosity-transition conditions. Consequently, α-pinene SOA particles exist in a viscous state over a wide range of ambient conditions, including the cirrus region of the free troposphere. This has implications for the physical, chemical, and ice-nucleation properties of SOA and SOA-coated particles in the atmosphere.