Articles | Volume 14, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5001-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5001-2021
Research article
 | 
21 Jul 2021
Research article |  | 21 Jul 2021

A dual-droplet approach for measuring the hygroscopicity of aqueous aerosol

Jack M. Choczynski, Ravleen Kaur Kohli, Craig S. Sheldon, Chelsea L. Price, and James F. Davies

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Cited articles

Bain, A. and Preston, T. C.: The wavelength-dependent optical properties of weakly absorbing aqueous aerosol particles, Chem. Commun., 56, 8928–8931, https://doi.org/10.1039/D0CC02737E, 2020. 
Barley, M. H., Topping, D. O., and McFiggans, G.: Critical Assessment of Liquid Density Estimation Methods for Multifunctional Organic Compounds and Their Use in Atmospheric Science, J. Phys. Chem. A, 117, 3428–3441, https://doi.org/10.1021/jp304547r, 2013. 
Bilde, M. and Pandis, S. N.: Evaporation Rates and Vapor Pressures of Individual Aerosol Species Formed in the Atmospheric Oxidation of α- and β-Pinene, Environ. Sci. Technol., 35, 3344–3349, https://doi.org/10.1021/es001946b, 2001. 
Bones, D. L., Reid, J. P., Lienhard, D. M., and Krieger, U. K.: Comparing the mechanism of water condensation and evaporation in glassy aerosol, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 109, 11613–11618, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1200691109, 2012. 
Cai, C., Stewart, D. J., Reid, J. P., Zhang, Y., Ohm, P., Dutcher, C. S., and Clegg, S. L.: Organic Component Vapor Pressures and Hygroscopicities of Aqueous Aerosol Measured by Optical Tweezers, J. Phys. Chem. A, 119, 704–718, https://doi.org/10.1021/jp510525r, 2014. 
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Short summary
Relative humidity (RH) and hygroscopicity play an important role in regulating the physical, chemical, and optical properties of aerosol. In this work, we develop a new method to characterize hygroscopicity using particle levitation. We levitate two droplets with an electrodynamic balance and measure their size with light-scattering methods using one droplet as a probe of the RH. We demonstrate highly accurate and precise measurements of the RH and hygroscopic growth of a range of samples.