Abstract. Interactions with water are crucial for the properties, transformation and climate effects of atmospheric aerosols. Here we present a conceptual framework for the interaction of amorphous aerosol particles with water vapor, outlining characteristic features and differences in comparison to crystalline particles. We used a hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyzer (H-TDMA) to characterize the hydration and dehydration of crystalline ammonium sulfate, amorphous oxalic acid and amorphous levoglucosan particles (diameter ∼100 nm, relative humidity 5-95% at 298 K). The experimental data and accompanying Köhler model calculations provide new insights into particle microstructure, surface adsorption, bulk absorption, phase transitions and hygroscopic growth. The results of these and related investigations lead to the following conclusions:(1) Many organic substances, including carboxylic acids, carbohydrates and proteins, tend to form amorphous rather than crystalline phases upon drying of aqueous solution droplets. Depending on viscosity and microstructure, the amorphous phases can be classified as glasses, rubbers, gels or viscous liquids.(2) Amorphous organic substances tend to absorb water vapor and undergo gradual deliquescence and hygroscopic growth at lower relative humidity than their crystalline counterparts.(3) In the course of hydration and dehydration, certain organic substances can form rubber-or gel-like structures Correspondence to: U. Pöschl (u.poschl@mpic.de) (supramolecular networks) and undergo transitions between swollen and collapsed network structures.(4) Organic gels or (semi-)solid amorphous shells (glassy, rubbery, ultra-viscous) with low molecular diffusivity can kinetically limit the uptake and release of water and may influence the hygroscopic growth and activation of aerosol particles as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nuclei (IN). Moreover, (semi-)solid amorphous phases may influence the uptake of gaseous photo-oxidants and the chemical transformation and aging of atmospheric aerosols.(5) The shape and porosity of amorphous and crystalline particles formed upon dehydration of aqueous solution droplets depend on chemical composition and drying conditions. The apparent volume void fractions of particles with highly porous structures can range up to ∼50% or more (xerogels, aerogels).(6) For efficient description of water uptake and phase transitions of aerosol particles, we propose not to limit the terms deliquescence and efflorescence to equilibrium phase transitions of crystalline substances. Instead we propose generalized definitions according to which amorphous and crystalline components can undergo gradual or prompt, partial or full deliquescence or efflorescence.We suggest that (semi-)solid amorphous phases may be important not only in the upper atmosphere as suggested in recent studies of glass formation at low temperatures. Depending on relative humidity, (semi-)solid phases and moisture-induced glass transitions may also play a role in gas-particle intera...

[1] Black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) are the largest contributors to the aerosol absorption in the atmosphere, yet the absorption cross sections of BC and OC per unit mass are subject to a large uncertainty due to morphology, physicochemical properties, and the mixing state of carbonaceous particles. Theoretical studies suggest the possibility of an enhanced absorption by soot-cloud drop agglomerates; however, the magnitude of the effect has never been measured directly and remains highly uncertain. This study is a laboratory experiment aimed at the modeling of direct radiation forcing due to soot-water interaction in the presence of glutaric acid, a water-soluble OC. Specifically, we generate, in the laboratory, hydrophobic soot (acetylene soot) and hydrophilic soot (mixture of acetylene soot and glutaric acid) and investigate the structural and optical properties of hydrophobic and hydrophilic soot particles in dry and water-saturated air. Hydrophobic soot (HBS) particles do not exhibit any structural or morphological differences under dry and saturated conditions, whereas hydrophilic soot (HLS) particles, i.e., BC with a monolayer of glutaric acid, collapse into globules when relative humidity (RH) is increased to saturation. The optical properties of HBS show very little dependence on RH while HLS scattering and absorption coefficient increase markedly with RH. For the cases considered here, the maximum enhancement in absorption for a soot-water drop mixture was as much as a factor of 3.5, very similar to theoretical predictions. The data provided in this study should advance the treatment of polluted cloud layers in climate models.

Abstract. The interaction of aerosol particles in the 100–200 nm size range composed of the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) and the inorganic salts sodium chloride and ammonium nitrate with water vapor at ambient temperature and pressure (25°C, 1 atm) has been investigated by hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyzer (H-TDMA) experiments complemented by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Köhler theory calculations. BSA was chosen as a well-defined model substance for proteins and other macromolecular compounds, which constitute a large fraction of the water-soluble organic component of air particulate matter. Pure BSA particles exhibited deliquescence and efflorescence transitions at ~35% relative humidity (RH) and a hygroscopic diameter increase by up to ~10% at 95% RH in good agreement with model calculations based on a simple parameterisation of the osmotic coefficient. Pure NaCl particles were converted from near-cubic to near-spherical or polyhedral shape upon interaction with water vapor at relative humidities below the deliquescence threshold (partial surface dissolution and recrystallisation), and the diameters of pure NH4NO3 particles decreased by up to 10% due to chemical decomposition and evaporation. Mixed NaCl-BSA and NH4NO3-BSA particles interacting with water vapor exhibited mobility equivalent diameter reductions of up to 20%, depending on particle generation, conditioning, size, and chemical composition (BSA dry mass fraction 10–90%). These observations can be explained by formation of porous agglomerates (envelope void fractions up to 50%) due to ion-protein interactions and electric charge effects on the one hand, and by compaction of the agglomerate structure due to capillary condensation effects on the other. The size of NH4NO3-BSA particles was apparently also influenced by volatilisation of NH4NO3, but not as much as for pure salt particles, i.e. the protein inhibited the decomposition of NH4NO3 or the evaporation of the decomposition products NH3 and HNO3. The efflorescence threshold of NaCl-BSA particles decreased with increasing BSA dry mass fraction, i.e. the protein inhibited the formation of salt crystals and enhanced the stability of supersaturated solution droplets. The H-TDMA and TEM results indicate that the protein was enriched at the surface of the mixed particles and formed an envelope, which inhibits the access of water vapor to the particle core and leads to kinetic limitations of hygroscopic growth, phase transitions, and microstructural rearrangement processes. Besides these surface and kinetic effects, proteins and comparable organic macromolecules may also influence the thermodynamic properties of the aqueous bulk solution (solubilities, vapor pressures, and chemical equilibria, e.g. for the decomposition and evaporation of NH4NO3. The observed effects should be taken into account in the analysis of data from laboratory experiments and field measurements and in the modelling of aerosol processes involving water vapor and particles with complex composition. They can strongly influence experimental results, and depending on ambient conditions they may also play a significant role in the atmosphere (deliquescence, efflorescence, and CCN activation of particles). In fact, irregular hygroscopic growth curves similar to the ones observed in this study have recently been reported from H-TDMA experiments with water-soluble organics extracted from real air particulate matter and with humic-like substances. The Köhler theory calculations performed with different models demonstrate that the hygroscopic growth of particles composed of inorganic salts and proteins can be efficiently described with a simple volume additivity approach, provided that the correct dry solute mass equivalent diameter and composition are known. A simple parameterisation of the osmotic coefficient has been derived from an osmotic pressure virial equation and appears to be well-suited for proteins and comparable substances. It is fully compatible with traditional volume additivity models for salt mixtures, and for its application only the density and molar mass of the substance have to be known or estimated.