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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1690
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1690
05 Jul 2024
 | 05 Jul 2024

The role of interfacial tension in the size-dependent phase separation of atmospheric aerosol particles

Ryan Schmedding and Andreas Zuend

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosol particles span orders of magnitude in size. In ultrafine particles, the energetic contributions of surfaces and interfaces to the Gibbs energy become significant and increase in importance as particle diameter decreases. For these particles, the thermodynamic equilibrium state depends on size, composition, and temperature. Various aerosol systems have been observed to undergo liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS), impacting equilibrium gas–particle partitioning, modifying physicochemical properties of the particle phases, and influencing cloud droplet activation. Numerous laboratory experiments have characterized the onset relative humidity of LLPS in larger aerosol particles and macroscopic bulk systems. However, in sufficiently small particles, the interfacial tension between two liquid phases constitutes an energetic barrier that may prevent the formation of an additional liquid phase. Determining said small-size limit is a key question.

We introduce a predictive droplet model based on the Aerosol Inorganic–Organic Mixtures Functional groups Activity Coefficients model. This model enables size-dependent computations of surface and interfacial tension effects on bulk–surface partitioning within phase-separated and single-phase particles. We evaluate four approaches for computing interfacial tension in multicomponent droplets, including a new method introduced in this work. Of the approaches tested, Antonov's rule best matches observed liquid–liquid interfacial tensions in highly immiscible mixtures, while a modified Butler equation fits well in more miscible systems. We find that two approaches substantially lower the onset relative humidity of LLPS for the studied systems.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

09 Jan 2025
The role of interfacial tension in the size-dependent phase separation of atmospheric aerosol particles
Ryan Schmedding and Andreas Zuend
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 327–346, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-327-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-327-2025, 2025
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Four different approaches for computing the interfacial tension between liquid phases in aerosol...
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