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Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 10, 1693-1717, 2010
www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/10/1693/2010/ doi:10.5194/acpd-10-1693-2010 © Author(s) 2010. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. |
On condensational growth of clusters and nanoparticles in sub-10 nm size range
1Department of Physics, P.O. Box 64, 00014, University of Helsinki, Finland
2Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kuopio Unit, and University of Kuopio, Department of Physics, P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
Abstract. The growth of freshly formed nanoparticles has been investigated. A new analytical expression based on a recently developed exact solution for the condensational growth rate has been derived. Based on the new growth rate, a new approximate but accurate analytical expression for growth time has been derived. The expression includes transition regime effects on growth, molecule size effects on the collision cross section and particle mobility effects on the relative collisional speeds – the last two of which are typically neglected, but may have significant effects when dealing with the growth of freshly nucleated particles. To demonstrate the use of the derived expressions, the contribution of sulphuric acid and organic compounds on sub 3 nm and sub 10 nm particle growth rates has been studied. For sulphuric acid also the effect of hydration as function of relative humidity has been taken into account. According to the new expression the needed sulphuric acid concentration for 1 nm/h growth in sub 3 nm range is ca. 7×106 cm−3, which is a factor of two smaller than values typically used in aerosol physics based on standard model in kinetic regime.
Citation: Nieminen, T., Lehtinen, K. E. J., and Kulmala, M.: On condensational growth of clusters and nanoparticles in sub-10 nm size range, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 10, 1693-1717, doi:10.5194/acpd-10-1693-2010, 2010.