In SituQuantitative Observation of Hygroscopic Growth of Single Nanoparticle Aerosol by Surface Plasmon Resonance Microscopy

Aerosol particle hygroscopicity is an important factor in visibility reduction, cloud formation, radiation forcing, and the global climate. The high number concentration of nanoparticles (defined as particles with diameters below 100 nm) means that their hygroscopic growth abilities and potential contributions to the climate and environment are significant. Therefore, a rapid and accurate in situanalysis method for single nanoparticle hygroscopic growth in an atmospheric environment is important to characterize the effects of the particle’s physical and chemical properties in this process. In this work, surface plasmon resonance microscopy with azimuthal rotation illumination (SPRM-ARI) is used to observe the hygroscopic growth and water content of single nanoparticles in situ. The hygroscopic growth results of a single-component nanoparticle are well matched with the extended aerosol inorganic model (E-AIM) results, and the proposed method remains reliable even when the relative humidity (RH) exceeds 90%. For a bicomponent nanoparticle (with NaCl as the primary content), the presence of a component without deliquescence phase transitions under increasing humidity conditions causes the measured data to differ from both the Zdanovskii–Stokes–Robinson (ZSR) model and E-AIM predictions in the low RH range. However, because of their complete liquefaction, the growth factor (GF) variation of the bicomponent nanoparticle is close to the model predictions in the high RH range. Finally, based on the positive correlation between particle volume and the gray intensity of SPRM-ARI, GF values can be obtained from the cube root of the gray intensity and the actual water content of single nanoparticles can then be derived.