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Real-Time Measurement of the Hygroscopic Growth Dynamics of Single Aerosol Nanoparticles with Bloch Surface Wave Microscopy
Author(s) -
Yan Kuai,
Zhouqing Xie,
Junxue Chen,
Huaqiao Gui,
Liang Xu,
Cuifang Kuang,
Pei Wang,
Xu Liu,
Jianguo Liu,
Joseph R. Lakowicz,
Douguo Zhang
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
acs nano
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.554
H-Index - 382
eISSN - 1936-086X
pISSN - 1936-0851
DOI - 10.1021/acsnano.0c04513
Subject(s) - aerosol , microscope , relative humidity , microscopy , nanoparticle , materials science , optical microscope , nanotechnology , video microscopy , temporal resolution , chemical physics , optics , chemistry , meteorology , composite material , scanning electron microscope , physics , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
The growth in aerosol particles caused by water uptake during increasing ambient relative humidity alters the physical and chemical properties of aerosols, which then affects public health, atmospheric chemistry, and the Earth's climate. The temporal resolution and sensitivity of current techniques are not sufficient to measure the growth dynamics of single aerosol nanoparticles. Additionally, the specific time required for phase transition from solid to aqueous has not been measured. Here, we describe a label-free photonic microscope that uses the Bloch surface waves as the illumination source for imaging and sensing to provide real-time measurements of the hygroscopic growth dynamics of a single aerosol (diameter <100 nm) containing the main components of air pollution. This specific time can be measured for both pure and mixed aerosols, showing that organics will delay the phase transition. This photonic microscope can be extended to investigate physicochemical reactions of various aerosols, and then knowing this specific time will be favorable for understanding the reaction kinetics among single aerosols and the surrounding medium.

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