A unified surface tension model for multi-component salt, organic, and surfactant solutions.

Despite the fact that the surface tension of liquid mixtures is of great importance in numerous fields and applications, there are no accurate models for calculating the surface tension of solutions containing water, salts, organic, and amphiphilic substances in a mixture. This study presents such a model and demonstrates its capabilities by modelling surface tension data from the literature. The presented equations not only allow to model solutions with ideal mixing behaviour but also non-idealities and synergistic effects can be identified and largely reproduced. In total, 22 ternary systems comprising 1842 data points could be modelled with an overall root mean squared error (RMSE) of 3.09 mN m-1. In addition, based on the modelling of ternary systems, the surface tension of two quaternary systems could be well predicted with RMSEs of 1.66 mN m-1 and 3.44 mN m-1. Besides its ability to accurately fit and predict multi-component surface tension data, the model also allows to analyze the nature and magnitude of bulk and surface non-idealities, helping to improve our understanding of the physicochemical mechanisms that influence surface tension.

Monitoring Aqueous Sucrose Solutions Using Droplet Microfluidics: Ice Nucleation, Growth, Glass Transition, and Melting.

Freezing and freeze-drying processes are commonly used to extend the shelf life of drug products and to ensure their safety and efficacy upon use. When designing a freezing process, it is beneficial to characterize multiple physicochemical properties of the formulation, such as nucleation rate, crystal growth rate, temperature and concentration of the maximally freeze-concentrated solution, and melting point. Differential scanning calorimetry has predominantly been used in this context but does have practical limitations and is unable to quantify the kinetics of crystal growth and nucleation. In this work, we introduce a microfluidic technique capable of quantifying the properties of interest and use it to investigate aqueous sucrose solutions of varying concentration. Three freeze-thaw cycles were performed on droplets with 75-µm diameters at cooling and warming rates of 1 °C/min. During each cycle, the visual appearance of the droplets was optically monitored as they experienced nucleation, crystal growth, formation of the maximally freeze-concentrated solution, and melting. Nucleation and crystal growth manifested as increases in droplet brightness during the cooling phase. Heating was associated with a further increase as the temperature associated with the maximally freeze-concentrated solution was approached. Heating beyond the melting point corresponded to a decrease in brightness. Comparison with the literature confirmed the accuracy of the new technique while offering new visual data on the maximally freeze-concentrated solution. Thus, the microfluidic technique presented here may serve as a complement to differential scanning calorimetry in the context of freezing and freeze-drying. In the future, it could be applied to a plethora of mixtures that undergo such processing, whether in pharmaceutics, food production, or beyond.

Surface tension models for binary aqueous solutions: a review and intercomparison.

The liquid-air surface tension of aqueous solutions is a fundamental quantity in multi-phase thermodynamics and fluid dynamics and thus relevant in many scientific and engineering fields. Various models have been proposed for its quantitative description. This Perspective gives an overview of the most popular models and their ability to reproduce experimental data of ten binary aqueous solutions of electrolytes and organic molecules chosen to be representative of different solute types. In addition, we propose a new model which reproduces sigmoidal curve shapes (Sigmoid model) to empirically fit experimental surface tension data. The surface tension of weakly surface-active substances is well reproduced by all models. In contrast, only few models successfully model the surface tension of aqueous solutions with strongly surface-active substances. For substances with a solubility limit, usually no experimental data is available for the surface tension of supersaturated solutions and the pure liquid solute. We discuss ways in which these can be estimated and emphasize the need for further research. The newly developed Sigmoid model best reproduces the surface tension of all tested solutions and can be recommended as a model for a broad range of binary mixtures and over the entire concentration range.

Exposure assessment during paint spraying and drying using PTR-ToF-MS.

Spraying is a common way to distribute occupational products, but it puts worker's health at risk by exposing them to potentially harmful particles and gases. The objective of this study is to use time-resolved measurements to gain an understanding of spray applications at the process level and to compare them to predictions of exposure models. We used proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) at 1-s time resolution to monitor the gas phase concentration of the solvents acetone, ethanol, butyl acetate, xylene and 1-methoxy-2-propy acetate during outdoor spraying and indoor drying of metal plate under various conditions of outdoor air supply. We found that during spraying, gas-phase exposure was dominated by the more volatile solvents acetone and ethanol, which exhibited strong concentration variations due to the outdoor winds. During drying, exposure strongly depended on the strength of ventilation. Under conditions with high supply of outdoor air, our measurements show a near-exponential decay of the solvent concentrations during drying. Conversely, under conditions without outdoor air supply, the drying process required hours, during which the less volatile solvents passed through a concentration maximum in the gas phase, so that the exposure during drying exceeded the exposure during spraying. The concentrations measured during spraying were then compared for each of the substances individually with the predictions of the exposure models ECETOC TRA, Stoffenmanager, and ART using TREXMO. For these conditions, ECETOC TRA and Stoffenmanager predicted exposures in the measured concentration range, albeit not conservative for all solvents and each application. In contrast, ART largely overestimated the exposure for the more volatile solvents acetone and ethanol and slightly underestimated exposure to 1M2PA for one spraying. ECETOC TRA and ART do not have options to predict exposure during drying. Stoffenmanager has the option to predict drying together with spraying, but not to predict the drying phase independently. Our study demonstrates the importance of considering both the spray cloud and solvent evaporation during the drying process. To improve workplace safety, there is a critical need for enhanced exposure models and comprehensive datasets for calibration and validation covering a broader range of exposure situations.

Homogeneous freezing of water droplets for different volumes and cooling rates.

To understand the crystallization of aqueous solutions in the atmosphere, biological specimens, or pharmaceutical formulations, the rate at which ice nucleates from pure liquid water must be quantified. There is still an orders-of-magnitude spread in the homogeneous nucleation rate of water measured using different instruments, with the most important source of uncertainty being that of the measured temperature. Microfluidic platforms can generate hundreds to thousands of monodisperse water-in-oil droplets, unachievable by most other techniques. However, most microfluidic devices previously used to quantify homogeneous ice nucleation rates have reported high temperature uncertainties, between ±0.3 and ±0.7 K. We use the recently developed Microfluidic Ice Nuclei Counter Zurich (MINCZ) to observe the freezing of spherical water droplets with two diameters (75 and 100 µm) at two cooling rates (1 and 0.1 K min-1). By varying both droplet volume and cooling rate, we were able to probe a temperature range of 236.5-239.3 K with an accuracy of ±0.2 K, providing reliable data where previously determined nucleation rates suffered from large uncertainties and inconsistencies, especially at temperatures above 238 K. From these data and from Monte Carlo simulations, we demonstrate the importance of obtaining a sufficiently large dataset so that underlying nucleation rates are not overestimated at higher temperatures. Finally, we obtain new parameters for a previous parameterisation by fitting to our newly measured nucleation rates, enabling its use in applications where ice formation needs to be predicted.

Pore condensation and freezing is responsible for ice formation below water saturation for porous particles.

Ice nucleation in the atmosphere influences cloud properties, altering precipitation and the radiative balance, ultimately regulating Earth's climate. An accepted ice nucleation pathway, known as deposition nucleation, assumes a direct transition of water from the vapor to the ice phase, without an intermediate liquid phase. However, studies have shown that nucleation occurs through a liquid phase in porous particles with narrow cracks or surface imperfections where the condensation of liquid below water saturation can occur, questioning the validity of deposition nucleation. We show that deposition nucleation cannot explain the strongly enhanced ice nucleation efficiency of porous compared with nonporous particles at temperatures below -40 °C and the absence of ice nucleation below water saturation at -35 °C. Using classical nucleation theory (CNT) and molecular dynamics simulations (MDS), we show that a network of closely spaced pores is necessary to overcome the barrier for macroscopic ice-crystal growth from narrow cylindrical pores. In the absence of pores, CNT predicts that the nucleation barrier is insurmountable, consistent with the absence of ice formation in MDS. Our results confirm that pore condensation and freezing (PCF), i.e., a mechanism of ice formation that proceeds via liquid water condensation in pores, is a dominant pathway for atmospheric ice nucleation below water saturation. We conclude that the ice nucleation activity of particles in the cirrus regime is determined by the porosity and wettability of pores. PCF represents a mechanism by which porous particles like dust could impact cloud radiative forcing and, thus, the climate via ice cloud formation.

Ice nucleation triggered by negative pressure.

Homogeneous ice nucleation needs supercooling of more than 35 K to become effective. When pressure is applied to water, the melting and the freezing points both decrease. Conversely, melting and freezing temperatures increase under negative pressure, i.e. when water is stretched. This study presents an extrapolation of homogeneous ice nucleation temperatures from positive to negative pressures as a basis for further exploration of ice nucleation under negative pressure. It predicts that increasing negative pressure at temperatures below about 262 K eventually results in homogeneous ice nucleation while at warmer temperature homogeneous cavitation, i. e. bubble nucleation, dominates. Negative pressure occurs locally and briefly when water is stretched due to mechanical shock, sonic waves, or fragmentation. The occurrence of such transient negative pressure should suffice to trigger homogeneous ice nucleation at large supercooling in the absence of ice-nucleating surfaces. In addition, negative pressure can act together with ice-inducing surfaces to enhance their intrinsic ice nucleation efficiency. Dynamic ice nucleation can be used to improve properties and uniformity of frozen products by applying ultrasonic fields and might also be relevant for the freezing of large drops in rainclouds.

Morphologies of mixed organic/inorganic/aqueous aerosol droplets.

Despite major progress in the understanding of properties of tropospheric aerosol particles, it remains challenging to understand their physical state and morphology. To obtain more detailed knowledge of the phases, phase transitions and morphologies of internally mixed organic/inorganic aerosol particles, we evaluated liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), deliquescence relative humidity (DRH) and efflorescence relative humidity (ERH) of 33 organic/ammonium sulfate (AS)/H2O systems from our own and literature data. The organic fraction consists of single compounds or mixtures with up to ten aliphatic and/or aromatic components with carboxylic acid, hydroxyl, carbonyl, ether, and ester functionalities, covering O : C ratios between 0.29 and 1.33. Thirteen out of these 33 systems did not show LLPS for any of the studied organic-to-inorganic mixing ratios, sixteen underwent LLPS showing core-shell morphology, and four showed both core-shell and partially engulfed configurations depending on the organic-to-inorganic ratio and RH. In all cases the organic fractions of the systems with partially engulfed configurations consisted of dicarboxylic acids. AS in mixed organic/AS/H2O particles deliquesced between 70 and 84% RH. AS effloresced below 58% RH or remained in a one-liquid-phase state. AS in droplets with LLPS always showed efflorescence with ERH between 30 and 50% RH, providing clear evidence that the presence of LLPS facilitates AS efflorescence. Spreading coefficients of the organic-rich phase on the AS-rich phase for systems containing polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG-400) and a mixture of dicarboxylic acids are in agreement with the optically observed morphologies of droplets deposited on the hydrophobic substrate. Analysis of high resolution elastic Mie resonance spectra allowed the detection of LLPS for single levitated droplets consisting of PEG-400/AS/ H2O, whereas LLPS was difficult to detect in (2-methylglutaric acid + 3-methylglutaric acid + 2,2-dimethylsuccinic acid)/AS/H2O. Measured Mie spectra of PEG-400/AS/H2O at 93.5% and at 80.9% RH agreed with computed Mie spectra for a homogeneous and a core-shell configuration, respectively, confirming the results obtained from droplets deposited on a hydrophobic substrate. Based on the presented evidence, we therefore consider the core-shell morphology to be the prevalent configuration of liquid-liquid-phase-separated tropospheric organic/AS/H2O particles.

Exploring the complexity of aerosol particle properties and processes using single particle techniques.

The complex interplay of processes that govern the size, composition, phase and morphology of aerosol particles in the atmosphere is challenging to understand and model. Measurements on single aerosol particles (2 to 100 µm in diameter) held in electrodynamic, optical and acoustic traps or deposited on a surface can allow the individual processes to be studied in isolation under controlled laboratory conditions. In particular, measurements can now be made of particle size with unprecedented accuracy (sub-nanometre) and over a wide range of timescales (spanning from milliseconds to many days). The physical state of a particle can be unambiguously identified and its composition and phase can be resolved with a high degree of spatial resolution. In this review, we describe the advances made in our understanding of aerosol properties and processes from measurements made of phase behaviour, hygroscopic growth, morphology, vapour pressure and the kinetics of water transport for single particles. We also show that studies of the oxidative aging of single particles, although limited in number, can allow the interplay of these properties to be investigated. We conclude by considering the contributions that single particle measurements can continue to make to our understanding of the properties and processes occurring in atmospheric aerosol.

Ultra-slow water diffusion in aqueous sucrose glasses.

We present measurements of water uptake and release by single micrometre-sized aqueous sucrose particles. The experiments were performed in an electrodynamic balance where the particles can be stored contact-free in a temperature and humidity controlled chamber for several days. Aqueous sucrose particles react to a change in ambient humidity by absorbing/desorbing water from the gas phase. This water absorption (desorption) results in an increasing (decreasing) droplet size and a decreasing (increasing) solute concentration. Optical techniques were employed to follow minute changes of the droplet's size, with a sensitivity of 0.2 nm, as a result of changes in temperature or humidity. We exposed several particles either to humidity cycles (between ∼2% and 90%) at 291 K or to constant relative humidity and temperature conditions over long periods of time (up to several days) at temperatures ranging from 203 to 291 K. In doing so, a retarded water uptake and release at low relative humidities and/or low temperatures was observed. Under the conditions studied here, the kinetics of this water absorption/desorption process is controlled entirely by liquid-phase diffusion of water molecules. Hence, it is possible to derive the translational diffusion coefficient of water molecules, D(H(2)O,) from these data by simulating the growth or shrinkage of a particle with a liquid-phase diffusion model. Values for D(H(2)O)-values as low as 10(-24) m(2) s(-1) are determined using data at temperatures down to 203 K deep in the glassy state. From the experiment and modelling we can infer strong concentration gradients within a single particle including a glassy skin in the outer shells of the particle. Such glassy skins practically isolate the liquid core of a particle from the surrounding gas phase, resulting in extremely long equilibration times for such particles, caused by the strongly non-linear relationship between concentration and D(H(2)O). We present a new parameterization of D(H(2)O) that facilitates describing the stability of aqueous food and pharmaceutical formulations in the glassy state, the processing of amorphous aerosol particles in spray-drying technology, and the suppression of heterogeneous chemical reactions in glassy atmospheric aerosol particles.

Efflorescence of ammonium sulfate and coated ammonium sulfate particles: evidence for surface nucleation.

Using optical microscopy, we investigated the efflorescence of ammonium sulfate (AS) in aqueous AS and in aqueous 1:1 and 8:1 (by dry weight) poly(ethylene glycol)-400 (PEG-400)/AS particles deposited on a hydrophobically coated slide. Aqueous PEG-400/AS particles exposed to decreasing relative humidity (RH) exhibit a liquid-liquid phase separation below approximately 90% RH with the PEG-400-rich phase surrounding the aqueous AS inner phase. Pure aqueous AS particles effloresced in the RH range from 36.3% to 43.7%, in agreement with literature data (31-48% RH). In contrast, aqueous 1:1 (by dry weight) PEG-400/AS particles with diameters of the AS phase from 7.2 to 19.2 mum effloresced between 26.8% and 33.9% RH and aqueous 8:1 (by dry weight) PEG-400/AS particles with diameters of the AS phase from 1.8 to 7.3 mum between 24.3% and 29.3% RH. Such low efflorescence relative humidity (ERH) values have never been reached before for AS particles of this size range. We show that these unprecedented low ERHs of AS in PEG-400/AS particles could not possibly be explained by the presence of low amounts of PEG-400 in the aqueous AS phase, by a potential inhibition of water evaporation via anomalously slow diffusion through the PEG coating, or by different time scales between various experimental techniques. High-speed photography of the efflorescence process allowed the development of the AS crystallization fronts within the particles to be monitored with millisecond time resolution. The nucleation sites were inferred from the initial crystal growth sites. Analysis of the probability distribution of initial sites of 31 and 19 efflorescence events for pure AS and 1:1 (by dry weight) PEG-400/AS particles, respectively, showed that the particle volume can be excluded as the preferred nucleation site in the case of pure AS particles. For aqueous 1:1 (by dry weight) PEG-400/AS particles preferential AS nucleation in the PEG phase and at the PEG/AS/substrate contact line can be excluded. On the basis of this probability analysis of efflorescence events together with the AS ERH values of pure aqueous AS and aqueous PEG-400/AS particles aforementioned, we suggest that in pure aqueous AS particles nucleation starts at the surface of the particles and attribute the lower ERH values observed for aqueous PEG-400/AS particles to the suppression of the surface-induced nucleation process. Our results suggest that surface-induced nucleation is likely to also occur during the efflorescence of atmospheric AS aerosol particles, possibly constituting the dominating nucleation pathway.

Liquid-liquid phase separation in mixed organic/inorganic aerosol particles.

Currently, the physical state of mixed organic/inorganic aerosol particles is not well characterized, largely because of the still unclear chemical composition of the organic fraction and of its properties with respect to mixing with the inorganic fraction. To obtain insight in the possible phases and phase transitions of such aerosol particles, we investigated the ternary poly(ethylene glycol)-400/ammonium sulfate/water system as a representative model system with partially immiscible constituents. For this purpose, we used optical microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy on micrometer-sized particles deposited on a hydrophobically coated substrate. The particles show liquid-liquid phase separations both upon decreasing (approximately 90-85%) and increasing (during ammonium sulfate deliquescence) relative humidities. In dependence upon the organic-to-inorganic ratio, OIR (i.e., poly(ethylene glycol)-400 to ammonium sulfate dry mass), phase separation is observed to occur by fundamentally different mechanisms, namely, nucleation-and-growth (OIR = 8:1 to 2:1), spinodal decomposition (OIR = 1.5:1 to 1:1.5) and growth of a second phase at the surface of the particle (OIR = 1:2 to 1:8). For each of these mechanisms, after completion of the phase separation, the resulting morphology of the particles is an aqueous ammonium sulfate inner phase surrounded by a mainly poly(ethylene glycol)-400 containing outer phase. We depict the various physical states of the ternary system in the relative humidity/composition phase diagram, constructed from bulk data and single particle measurements. Given the complex chemical composition of the organic fraction in tropospheric aerosols, it is expected that repulsive forces between the organic and inorganic aerosol constituents exist and that liquid-liquid phase separations commonly occur. The presence of liquid-liquid phase separations may change the partitioning of semivolatile species between the gas and the condensed phase, whereas the predominantly organic shell is likely to influence heterogeneous chemical reactions, such as N(2)O(5) hydrolysis.

Phase changes during hygroscopic cycles of mixed organic/inorganic model systems of tropospheric aerosols.

A correct description of the aerosol's phases is required to determine its gas/particle partitioning, its reactivity and its water uptake and release. In this study, we investigate organic/electrolyte interactions of ammonium sulfate, nitrate and sodium chloride with substances containing carboxylic acids (COOH) and hydroxyl (OH) functional groups. As organic model compounds, we chose polyols with different OH/CHn (n = 0-3) ratios-namely, glycerol, 1,4-butanediol, and 1,2-hexanediol-as well as PEG 400 and a mixture of dicarboxylic acids consisting of malic, malonic, maleic, glutaric, and methylsuccinic acid. Bulk solubility and water activity measurements of these model systems together with a survey of literature data showed that NaCl is a salting-out agent for alcohols and organic acids whereas ammonium nitrate and sulfate exhibited salting-in and salting-out tendencies depending on the nature and number of functional groups as well as on the concentration of the solution. All investigated salts induce a liquid-liquid phase separation in the 1,2-hexanediol/water system. Considering the composition of the tropospheric aerosol, such phase separations might indeed occur frequently when particles in the atmosphere are exposed to varying relative humidity. To complement the bulk experiments, we investigated single particles consisting of ammonium sulfate and dicarboxylic acids as well as of ammonium sulfate and PEG 400 in an electrodynamic balance. Whereas the relative humidities of total deliquescence as well as the water uptake and release of the fully deliquesced particles are in good agreement with the bulk results and represent thermodynamic equilibrium, the water uptake before full deliquescence shows significant deviations. These deviations may be caused by morphological effects.

White light Mie resonance spectroscopy used to measure very low vapor pressures of substances in aqueous solution aerosol particles.

We report a novel and fairly simple optical technique for sizing and measuring the evaporation rates of aqueous solution aerosol particles. A ball-lens LED with high degree of spatial coherence is used as a "white" light source to excite the Morphology Dependent Resonance (MDR) spectra of a microdroplet levitated in an electrodynamic balance (EDB). The spectra are recorded by an Optical Multichannel Analyzer. We show that very low vapor pressures of substances in aqueous solution particles can be measured for different temperatures and relative humidities (hence for different concentrations). As an application we measured the vapor pressure and the enthalpy of vaporization of aqueous malonic acid, a substance of interest for atmospheric science.

Laser Raman spectroscopic analysis of polymorphic forms in microliter fluid volumes.

Knowledge and control of the polymorphic phase of chemical compounds are important aspects of drug development in the pharmaceutical industry. We report herein in situ and real-time Raman spectroscopic polymorphic analysis of optically trapped microcrystals in a microliter volume format. The system studied in particular was the recrystallization of carbamazepine (CBZ) in methanol. Raman spectrometry enabled noninvasive measurement of the amount of dissolved CBZ in a sample as well as polymorphic characterization, whereas exclusive recrystallization of either CBZ form I or CBZ form III from saturated solutions was achieved by specific selection of sample cell cooling profiles. Additionally, using a microcell versus a macroscopic volume gives the advantage of reaching equilibrium much faster while using little compound quantity. We demonstrate that laser Raman spectral polymorphic analysis in a microliter cell is a potentially viable screening platform for polymorphic analysis and could lead to a new high throughput method for polymorph screening.