Quantitative reflectance spectra of solid powders as a function of particle size

We have recently developed vetted methods for obtaining quantitative infrared directional-hemispherical reflectance spectra using a commercial integrating sphere. In this paper, the effects of particle size on the spectral properties are analyzed for several samples such as ammonium sulfate, calcium carbonate, and sodium sulfate as well as one organic compound, lactose. We prepared multiple size fractions for each sample and confirmed the mean sizes using optical microscopy. Most species displayed a wide range of spectral behavior depending on the mean particle size. General trends of reflectance versus particle size are observed such as increased albedo for smaller particles: for most wavelengths, the reflectivity drops with increased size, sometimes displaying a factor of 4 or more drop in reflectivity along with a loss of spectral contrast. In the longwave infrared, several species with symmetric anions or cations exhibited reststrahlen features whose amplitude was nearly invariant with particle size, at least for intermediate and large size sample fractions: that is, ≳150  μm. Trends of other types of bands (Christiansen minima, transparency features) are also investigated as well as quantitative analysis of the observed relationship between reflectance versus particle diameter.