AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Evaluation of a Compact Electrostatic Nanoparticle Sampler
HE JING, Ta-Chih Hsiao, Siqin He, Qisheng Ou, Da-Ren Chen, Washington University in St. Louis
Abstract Number: 361 Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods
Abstract A new compact nano-aerosol sampler for particle SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) analysis has been designed and its performance has been experimentally evaluated. The new sampler collects particles via the electrostatic deposition. Two chambers for aerosol charging and particle collection are included in the sampler. The charger used in the NSAM (Nanoparticle Surface Area Monitor, TSI Inc.) is used in the particle charging chamber of the sampler. Charged particles are then electrically deposited on the SEM stub in the particle collection chamber. In this study the performance optimization of the sampler was first carried out. The optimized charger voltage, total flow rate through the sampler and aerosol/ion carrying flow rate ratio were 4.5 kV, 1 lpm and 1:1 respectively. The sampler’s performance when operated at the above-identified optimal condition was then further evaluated. Fluorescent particles in the sizes ranging from 60 to 400 nm were used to evaluate the particle deposition distribution in the sampler via the fluorescence analysis. The effect of particle material on the particle collection was examined with PSL (Polystyrene Latex) particles, solid (i.e., potassium chloride) and liquid (i.e., oleic acid) particles. The testing particle size ranges for PSL particles, potassium chloride particles and oleic acid particles were from 100 to 1000 nm, from 10 to 500 nm and from 50 to 500 nm respectively. The detail of this study will be discussed in the presentation.