Nanoparrticle Growth Mechanisms During New Particle Formation

University Of Delaware, Newark DE

Investigators

Abstract

In this project funded by the Environmental Chemical Sciences program in the Division of Chemistry at the National Science Foundation, Professor Murray Johnston of the University of Delaware is studying the chemical mechanisms by which nanoparticles grow in the atmosphere. This project will support the work of three graduate students. These students will be broadly trained and capable of pursuing a career in areas such as environmental chemistry, industrial analytical chemistry, instrumentation, nanoscience, or academia. Society will benefit by training students who are able to predict how changes in human activity affects climate. Professor Johnston and graduate students will also work to increase awareness of environmental science among University of Delaware undergraduates and the general public, by incorporating the concepts and results of this work into formal coursework and public outreach events. Nanoparticles that grow fast enough, can reach a size where they serve as the seeds to form cloud droplets. Understanding how these particles grow will assist the development of improved models to predict cloud formation and its impact on climate. Current regional and global atmospheric models are limited in their ability to predict the contribution of carbonaceous matter to nanoparticle growth rates during new particle formation (NPF). This knowledge gap represents the greatest remaining uncertainty for determining the impact of NPF on today's climate and climate forcing (the difference between pre-industrial times and now). The specific objective of the proposed work is to elucidate chemical mechanisms of nanoparticle growth by carbonaceous matter during NPF. The results obtained from this research will provide a fundamental basis for developing and improving models that rely on the prediction of nanoparticle growth by carbonaceous matter.