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. 2020 Aug 7;3(1):105.
doi: 10.1038/s42004-020-00342-9.

Open questions on the physical properties of aerosols

Bryan R Bzdek  1 , Jonathan P Reid  2 , Michael I Cotterell  3
Affiliations

Open questions on the physical properties of aerosols

Bryan R Bzdek et al. Commun Chem. .

Abstract

Aerosols are highly dynamic, non-equilibrium systems exhibiting unique microphysical properties relative to bulk systems. Here the authors discuss the roles aerosols play in (bio)chemical transformations and identify open questions in aerosol-mediated reaction rate accelerations, aerosol optical properties, and microorganism survival.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Aerosol surface area-to-volume ratios.
Aerosols exhibit surface area-to-volume ratios that are orders of magnitude larger than those of macroscopic systems. The secondary y-axis illustrates how the total surface area of 1 L of liquid water changes as the liquid is aerosolised to a monodisperse distribution of a specific size.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Supersaturation in aerosol droplets.
Sodium nitrate is an example of a compound that often will not crystallise in the aerosol phase, instead reaching highly supersaturated solute states that are well beyond those accessible in macroscopic systems. The relationship between solute molality and water activity was calculated using the Aerosol Inorganics Model (http://www.aim.env.uea.ac.uk/aim/aim.php). Water activity = Relative humidity/100%.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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