Characterizing the Phase Transitions of Single Organic Aerosols in an Optical Trap

Project Information

BBOT

Grant agreement ID: 331734

Project closed

Start date 1 August 2013

End date 31 July 2015

Funded under

• Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Total cost € 184 709,40

EU contribution € 184 709,40

Coordinated by

EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH
Switzerland

Objective

Organic aerosols play a major role in the chemistry and physics of the atmosphere, serving as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, sites of interfacial chemistry, and scatters and absorbers of incident radiation. Recent field campaigns have affirmed their prevalence in the troposphere, and aircraft measurements have discovered large quantities of organic material within the nuclei of ice crystals in mid-latitude mixed-phase clouds. Despite their ubiquity and importance in the environment, little is known about organic aerosols, in particular, their phase state and influence over the partitioning of gas-phase compounds, rate of chemical reactions, water uptake and particle ability to act as CCN or IN. To elucidate the role of organic aerosols, I propose experimental studies on laboratory-generated organic aerosols by investigating their phase behavior under well-controlled, atmospherically-relevant temperature and relative humidity. For single-particle resolution, I will develop and employ a counter-propagating Bessel beams optical trap (BBOT), equipped with a positional sensor, a cold head (capable of lowering temperatures quickly down to 70 K) and RH control, the first of its kind. The laboratory-based instrument will be developed in the group of Prof. Ruth Signorell at ETH Zürich, Department of Chemistry, where the research will be performed. By optically trapping single aerosols and controlling the ambient relative humidity and temperature, the phase behavior of organic aerosols can be characterized, giving insight into their influence on cloud formation, precipitation, and overall climate.

Fields of science

• engineering and technology › mechanical engineering › vehicle engineering › aerospace engineering › aircraft
• engineering and technology › electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering › electronic engineering › sensors
• natural sciences › earth and related environmental sciences › atmospheric sciences › meteorology › troposphere
• natural sciences › chemical sciences

Programme(s)

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Topic(s)

• FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IIF - Marie Curie Action: "International Incoming Fellowships"

Call for proposal

FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IIF
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

MC-IIF - International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)

Coordinator

EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH

• EU contribution: € 184 709,40
• Address: Raemistrasse 101 ; 8092 Zuerich ; Switzerland
• Region: Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera › Zürich › Zürich
• Activity type: Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
• Administrative Contact: Ruth Signorell (Prof.)
• Total cost: No data