Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation in Aerosol Particles: Imaging at the Nanometer Scale

Atmospheric aerosols can undergo phase transitions including liquid liquid phase separation (LLPS) while responding to changes in the ambient relative humidity (RH). Here, we report results of chemical imaging experiments using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) to investigate the LLPS of micrometer-sized particles undergoing a full hydration-dehydration cycle. Internally mixed particles composed of ammonium sulfate (AS) and either: limonene secondary organic carbon (LSOC), alpha, 4-dihydroxy-3-methoxybenzeneaceticacid (HMMA), or polyethylene glycol (PEG-400) were studied. Events of LLPS were observed for all samples with both techniques. Chemical imaging with STXM showed that both LSOC/AS and HMMA/AS particles were never homogeneously mixed for all measured RH's above the deliquescence point and that the majority of the organic component was located in the outer phase. The outer phase composition was estimated as 65:35 organic: inorganic in LSOC/AS and as 50:50 organic: inorganic for HMMA/AS. PEG-400/AS particles showed fully homogeneous mixtures at high RH and phase separated below 89-92% RH with an estimated 70:30% organic to inorganic mix in the outer phase. These two chemical imaging techniques are well suited for in situ analysis of the hygroscopic behavior, phase separation, and surface composition of collected ambient aerosol particles.