Temporal evolution of charged and neutral nanoparticle concentrations during atmospheric new particle formation events and its implications for ion-induced nucleation

Abstract

Over 100 new particle formation events were studied.

In 50 events, charged and neutral particles were not formed at the same time.

In 42 of these events the charged particles formed before the neutral particles.

Their subsequent growth rates were not determined by the particle charge.

The result suggests that ion induced nucleation plays a role in particle formation.

Time series of nanoparticle number concentration during new particle formation (NPF) events in the urban environment of Brisbane, Australia, showed that the formation of charged particles often occurred before that of neutral particles. We monitored 241 days during the calendar year 2012 over which NPF events were observed on 108 days. We studied the times at which the charged and neutral particle concentrations in the size range 1.8–3.2 nm reached their peak values and found that they were clearly different in 50 events with the peak neutral particle concentration lagging behind the charged particle concentration during 42 of these events with a mean time lag of 24±12 min. While the charged particles were more likely to form before the neutral particles, once formed, the growth rate of the particles did not depend on their charge. While ion-induced nucleation is not the dominant mechanism of NPF in the atmosphere, our observations suggest that the presence of ions in the atmosphere plays a role that cannot be ignored.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Charged particles / Cluster ions / Secondary particles / Environmental pollution

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2016 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg