Abstract View
Aerosols in Chemistry and the Chemistry of Aerosols
MURRAY JOHNSTON, University of Delaware
Abstract Number: 496
Working Group: Invited by Conference Chair
Abstract
Aerosols provide a unique medium for studying chemical processes, while knowledge of chemical processes helps us understand and predict aerosol formation and growth in the atmosphere. In this presentation, the connection between aerosols and chemistry will be discussed, drawing from recent studies in our laboratory as well as the broader scientific community. From the “aerosols in chemistry” perspective, we will explore how chemical processes in aerosols may differ from those studied exclusively within a bulk phase or at an interface between two phases. Aerosols as media for performing chemical reactions provide the opportunity fine tune the interface-to-volume ratio and thereby control the relative reaction rates in the two regions. From the “chemistry of aerosols” perspective, we will explore how chemical processes contributing to growth of ultrafine particles, 100 nm in diameter and below, may change with particle diameter. The growth of smaller particles tends to be driven by interfacial processes while that of larger particles tends to be driven by volume processes, and the transition from one to the other occurs as particles grow. Finally, from both perspectives simultaneously, we will explore how aerosol processes can be exploited for chemical analysis – whether the motivation is molecular characterization of a bulk phase or airborne particulate matter.