scholarly journals Weighing picogram aerosol droplets with an optical balance

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Reich ◽  
Grégory David ◽  
Kιvanç Esat ◽  
Ruth Signorell

AbstractOptical traps are used to isolate and manipulate small objects in air and liquids, enabling the thorough characterization of their properties in situ. However, no broadly applicable technique for mass measurements of optically trapped objects is currently available. Here we propose an optical balance for mass measurements of optically trapped aerosol particles. By analyzing light-induced harmonic oscillations of a particle, its mass is determined non-destructively and with high accuracy on a time scale of seconds. Its performance is demonstrated for aqueous salt droplets, where masses as low as 4 pg (4 × 10−15 kg) have been measured with an accuracy of ~100 fg. The balance is straightforward to implement and broadly applicable.

Author(s):  
Michel Legrand ◽  
Christophe Pietras ◽  
Gérard Brogniez ◽  
Martial Haeffelin ◽  
Nader Khalil Abuhassan ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack M. Choczynski ◽  
Ravleen Kaur Kohli ◽  
Craig S. Sheldon ◽  
Chelsea L. Price ◽  
James F. Davies

Abstract. Accurate characterization of the water activity and hygroscopicity of aqueous aerosol material allows us to predict the chemical and physical state of aerosol particles exposed to humid conditions in the environment. The hygroscopicity of aerosol determines the size, phase morphology, viscosity, chemical reactivity, and optical properties of constituent particles, and directly impacts their ability to form clouds in the atmosphere. In this work, we describe measurements of hygroscopicity using a linear quadrupole electrodynamic balance (LQ-EDB). We levitate two droplets, one droplet that acts as a relative humidity (RH) probe and one sample droplet, and expose them to controlled environmental conditions. We describe the development of a RH measurement using probe droplets of aqueous NaCl or LiCl, allowing for precise in-situ measurements of RH in the LQ-EDB chamber. We demonstrate that the RH may be determined with an accuracy of 0.5 % at 50 % RH and better than 0.1 % at 90 % RH using NaCl, and show that LiCl is effective at characterizing the RH from ~10 % RH up to ~90 %. We simultaneously measure the response of sample droplets containing aqueous material (including ammonium sulfate, citric acid, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, and tetraethylene glycol) and report hygroscopic growth via their radial growth factors. We use established thermodynamic models to validate the accuracy of the RH probe and to compare with the measured hygroscopicity of the samples. This approach shows significant advantages over other methods for accurately characterizing the hygroscopicity of samples with a range of characteristics, such as high viscosity and vapor pressure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 5001-5013
Author(s):  
Jack M. Choczynski ◽  
Ravleen Kaur Kohli ◽  
Craig S. Sheldon ◽  
Chelsea L. Price ◽  
James F. Davies

Abstract. Accurate characterization of the water activity and hygroscopicity of aqueous aerosol material allows us to predict the chemical and physical state of aerosol particles exposed to humid conditions in the environment. The hygroscopicity of aerosol determines the size, phase morphology, viscosity, chemical reactivity, and optical properties of constituent particles and directly impacts their ability to form clouds in the atmosphere. In this work, we describe measurements of hygroscopicity using a linear quadrupole electrodynamic balance (LQ-EDB). We levitate two droplets, one droplet that acts as a relative humidity (RH) probe and one sample droplet, and expose them to controlled environmental conditions. We describe the development of an RH measurement using probe droplets of aqueous NaCl or LiCl, allowing for precise in situ measurements of RH in the LQ-EDB chamber. We demonstrate that the RH may be determined with an accuracy of 0.5 % at 50 % RH and better than 0.1 % at 90 % RH using NaCl, and we show that LiCl is effective at characterizing the RH from ∼ 10 % RH up to ∼ 90 %. We simultaneously measure the response of sample droplets containing aqueous material (including ammonium sulfate, citric acid, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, and tetra-ethylene glycol) and report hygroscopic growth via their radial growth factors. We use established thermodynamic models to validate the accuracy of the RH probe and to compare with the measured hygroscopicity of the samples. This approach shows significant advantages over other methods for accurately characterizing the hygroscopicity of samples with a range of characteristics, such as high viscosity and vapor pressure.


2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 5477-5485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grégory David ◽  
Kıvanç Esat ◽  
Irina Ritsch ◽  
Ruth Signorell

A broadband light scattering experiment for the characterization of size and refractive index of single submicron-to-micron sized aerosol particles is presented.


Author(s):  
R. E. Herfert

Studies of the nature of a surface, either metallic or nonmetallic, in the past, have been limited to the instrumentation available for these measurements. In the past, optical microscopy, replica transmission electron microscopy, electron or X-ray diffraction and optical or X-ray spectroscopy have provided the means of surface characterization. Actually, some of these techniques are not purely surface; the depth of penetration may be a few thousands of an inch. Within the last five years, instrumentation has been made available which now makes it practical for use to study the outer few 100A of layers and characterize it completely from a chemical, physical, and crystallographic standpoint. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) provides a means of viewing the surface of a material in situ to magnifications as high as 250,000X.


Author(s):  
J. I. Bennetch

In a recent study of the superplastic forming (SPF) behavior of certain Al-Li-X alloys, the relative misorientation between adjacent (sub)grains proved to be an important parameter. It is well established that the most accurate way to determine misorientation across boundaries is by Kikuchi line analysis. However, the SPF study required the characterization of a large number of (sub)grains in each sample to be statistically meaningful, a very time-consuming task even for comparatively rapid Kikuchi analytical techniques.In order to circumvent this problem, an alternate, even more rapid in-situ Kikuchi technique was devised, eliminating the need for the developing of negatives and any subsequent measurements on photographic plates. All that is required is a double tilt low backlash goniometer capable of tilting ± 45° in one axis and ± 30° in the other axis. The procedure is as follows. While viewing the microscope screen, one merely tilts the specimen until a standard recognizable reference Kikuchi pattern is centered, making sure, at the same time, that the focused electron beam remains on the (sub)grain in question.


Author(s):  
J. Liu ◽  
M. Pan ◽  
G. E. Spinnler

Small metal particles have peculiar chemical and physical properties as compared to bulk materials. They are especially important in catalysis since metal particles are common constituents of supported catalysts. The structural characterization of small particles is of primary importance for the understanding of structure-catalytic activity relationships. The shape and size of metal particles larger than approximately 5 nm in diameter can be determined by several imaging techniques. It is difficult, however, to deduce the shape of smaller metal particles. Coherent electron nanodiffraction (CEND) patterns from nano particles contain information about the particle size, shape, structure and defects etc. As part of an on-going program of STEM characterization of supported catalysts we report some preliminary results of CEND study of Ag nano particles, deposited in situ in a UHV STEM instrument, and compare the experimental results with full dynamical simulations in order to extract information about the shape of Ag nano particles.


Reproduction ◽  
2000 ◽  
pp. 325-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Calvo ◽  
LM Pastor ◽  
S Bonet ◽  
E Pinart ◽  
M Ventura

Lectin histochemistry was used to perform in situ characterization of the glycoconjugates present in boar testis and epididymis. Thirteen horseradish peroxidase- or digoxigenin-labelled lectins were used in samples obtained from healthy fertile boars. The acrosomes of the spermatids were stained intensely by lectins with affinity for galactose and N-acetyl-galactosamine residues, these being soybean, peanut and Ricinus communis agglutinins. Sertoli cells were stained selectively by Maackia ammurensis agglutinin. The lamina propria of seminiferous tubules showed the most intense staining with fucose-binding lectins. The Golgi area and the apical part of the principal cells of the epididymis were stained intensely with many lectins and their distribution was similar in the three zones of the epididymis. On the basis of lectin affinity, both testis and epididymis appear to have N- and O-linked glycoconjugates. Spermatozoa from different epididymal regions showed different expression of terminal galactose and N-acetyl-galactosamine. Sialic acid (specifically alpha2,3 neuraminic-5 acid) was probably incorporated into spermatozoa along the extratesticular ducts. These findings indicate that the development and maturation of boar spermatozoa are accompanied by changes in glycoconjugates. As some lectins stain cellular or extracellular compartments specifically, these lectins could be useful markers in histopathological evaluation of diseases of boar testis and epididymis.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devon Jakob ◽  
Le Wang ◽  
Haomin Wang ◽  
Xiaoji Xu

<p>In situ measurements of the chemical compositions and mechanical properties of kerogen help understand the formation, transformation, and utilization of organic matter in the oil shale at the nanoscale. However, the optical diffraction limit prevents attainment of nanoscale resolution using conventional spectroscopy and microscopy. Here, we utilize peak force infrared (PFIR) microscopy for multimodal characterization of kerogen in oil shale. The PFIR provides correlative infrared imaging, mechanical mapping, and broadband infrared spectroscopy capability with 6 nm spatial resolution. We observed nanoscale heterogeneity in the chemical composition, aromaticity, and maturity of the kerogens from oil shales from Eagle Ford shale play in Texas. The kerogen aromaticity positively correlates with the local mechanical moduli of the surrounding inorganic matrix, manifesting the Le Chatelier’s principle. In situ spectro-mechanical characterization of oil shale will yield valuable insight for geochemical and geomechanical modeling on the origin and transformation of kerogen in the oil shale.</p>


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