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Using a Fast-Scanning Electrical Nanoparticle Sizer to Characterize Nanoparticles from Laser Ablation

Journal Article · · Aerosol Air Quality Research
OSTI ID:931479

A Fast-Scanning Electrical Nanoparticle Sizer (FSENS) consisting of a Po 210 bipolar charger, a Nano-DMA, and an aerosol electrometer was used to characterize nanoparticles generated by laser ablating the surfaces of cement, chromium-embedded cement, stainless steel, and alumina samples. Different from previous studies, bimodal size distributions, with the nucleation mode having a geometric mean diameter ranging from 5.7-6.6 nm and a geometric standard deviation varying from 1.225-1.379, were observed for all the experimental runs. The curve fitting shows that the bimodal size distribution produced in the laser ablation can be best fitted by a lognormal distribution for the nucleation mode and a Rosin-Rammler distribution for the coagulation mode. At steady state the geometric mean diameter of the coagulation mode was affected by the laser wavelength and target material, but was less influenced by laser energy for a given wavelength. The total particle number concentrations of the two modes appear to be parabolic with respect to the laser fluence. At a given fluence, the stainless-steel sample produced the highest particle number concentration with 532- and 1064-nm lasers; the alumina sample produced the lowest particle number concentration with 266- and 1064-nm lasers. The chromium-embedded cement sample produced fewer particles with 532- and 1064 nm lasers than the pure cement sample. This study also demonstrated that FSENS can provide snapshots of the nanoparticle dynamics during laser ablation in cases of low laser fluence.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Sponsoring Organization:
ORNL LDRD Director's R&D; SC USDOE - Office of Science (SC); ORNL work for others
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
931479
Journal Information:
Aerosol Air Quality Research, Journal Name: Aerosol Air Quality Research Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 7
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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