Cloud droplet activation of polymerized organic aerosol

Markus D. Petters; Sonia M. Kreidenweis; Jefferson R. Snider; Kirsten A. Koehler; Qiang Wang; Anthony J. Prenni; Paul J. Demott

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0889.2006.00181.x

Cloud droplet activation of polymerized organic aerosol

Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology

Volume 58 (2006): Issue 3

By: Markus D. Petters, Sonia M. Kreidenweis, Jefferson R. Snider, Kirsten A. Koehler, Qiang Wang, Anthony J. Prenni and Paul J. Demott

Open Access

|Jan 2006

Abstract

High-molecular-weight organic compounds represent an important fraction in atmospheric aerosols, but their interactions with atmospheric water vapour are not well understood. Specifically, the hygroscopicity of polymerized atmospheric aerosols is larger than expected for their high molecular weights and is not a strong function of the degree of polymerization, but their cloud-nucleating activity declines as polymerization progresses.We apply a Flory–Huggins based theory for polymer–water interactions to describe water activity in aqueous solutions of atmospherically relevant oligomers and polymers, and show via experiments on particles composed of commercial polymers that it is consistent with observed particle hygroscopic growth and cloud formation behaviour.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0889.2006.00181.x | Journal eISSN: 1600-0889

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Language: English

Page range: 196 - 205

Submitted on: Jun 7, 2005

Accepted on: Dec 19, 2005

Published on: Jan 1, 2006

Published by: Stockholm University Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

© 2006 Markus D. Petters, Sonia M. Kreidenweis, Jefferson R. Snider, Kirsten A. Koehler, Qiang Wang, Anthony J. Prenni, Paul J. Demott, published by Stockholm University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 58 (2006): Issue 3