Articles | Volume 16, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-135-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-135-2016
Research article
 | 
15 Jan 2016
Research article |  | 15 Jan 2016

An adsorption theory of heterogeneous nucleation of water vapour on nanoparticles

A. Laaksonen and J. Malila

Related authors

Prior heterogeneous ice nucleation events increase likelihood of homogeneous freezing during the evolution of synoptic cirrus
Kasper Juurikkala, Christina J. Williamson, Karl D. Froyd, Jonathan Dean-Day, and Ari Laaksonen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-163,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-163, 2025
Short summary
Homogeneous ice nucleation in adsorbed water films: A theoretical approach
Ari Laaksonen, Golnaz Roudsari, Ana A. Piedehierro, and André Welti
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4095,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4095, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Cloud drop activation of insoluble aerosols aided by film-forming surfactants
Ari Laaksonen
Aerosol Research, 2, 343–351, https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2-343-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2-343-2024, 2024
Short summary
Deposition freezing, pore condensation freezing and adsorption: three processes, one description?
Mária Lbadaoui-Darvas, Ari Laaksonen, and Athanasios Nenes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10057–10074, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10057-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10057-2023, 2023
Short summary
Particle emissions from a modern heavy-duty diesel engine as ice nuclei in immersion freezing mode: a laboratory study on fossil and renewable fuels
Kimmo Korhonen, Thomas Bjerring Kristensen, John Falk, Vilhelm B. Malmborg, Axel Eriksson, Louise Gren, Maja Novakovic, Sam Shamun, Panu Karjalainen, Lassi Markkula, Joakim Pagels, Birgitta Svenningsson, Martin Tunér, Mika Komppula, Ari Laaksonen, and Annele Virtanen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1615–1631, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1615-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1615-2022, 2022
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Construction and application of a pollen emissions model based on phenology and random forests
Jiangtao Li, Xingqin An, Zhaobin Sun, Caihua Ye, Qing Hou, Yuxin Zhao, and Zhe Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3583–3602, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3583-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3583-2025, 2025
Short summary
The impact of uncertainty in black carbon's refractive index on simulated optical depth and radiative forcing
Ruth A. R. Digby, Knut von Salzen, Adam H. Monahan, Nathan P. Gillett, and Jiangnan Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3109–3130, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3109-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3109-2025, 2025
Short summary
Characterization of brown carbon absorption in different European environments through source contribution analysis
Hector Navarro-Barboza, Jordi Rovira, Vincenzo Obiso, Andrea Pozzer, Marta Via, Andres Alastuey, Xavier Querol, Noemi Perez, Marjan Savadkoohi, Gang Chen, Jesus Yus-Díez, Matic Ivancic, Martin Rigler, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, Stergios Vratolis, Olga Zografou, Maria Gini, Benjamin Chazeau, Nicolas Marchand, Andre S. H. Prevot, Kaspar Dallenbach, Mikael Ehn, Krista Luoma, Tuukka Petäjä, Anna Tobler, Jaroslaw Necki, Minna Aurela, Hilkka Timonen, Jarkko Niemi, Olivier Favez, Jean-Eudes Petit, Jean-Philippe Putaud, Christoph Hueglin, Nicolas Pascal, Aurélien Chauvigné, Sébastien Conil, Marco Pandolfi, and Oriol Jorba
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2667–2694, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2667-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2667-2025, 2025
Short summary
Accounting for the black carbon aging process in a two-way coupled meteorology–air quality model
Yuzhi Jin, Jiandong Wang, Chao Liu, David C. Wong, Golam Sarwar, Kathleen M. Fahey, Shang Wu, Jiaping Wang, Jing Cai, Zeyuan Tian, Zhouyang Zhang, Jia Xing, Aijun Ding, and Shuxiao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2613–2630, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2613-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2613-2025, 2025
Short summary
The effectiveness of solar radiation management using fine sea spray across multiple climatic regions
Zhe Song, Shaocai Yu, Pengfei Li, Ningning Yao, Lang Chen, Yuhai Sun, Boqiong Jiang, and Daniel Rosenfeld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2473–2494, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2473-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2473-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Adamson, A. W., and Gast, A. P.: Physical Chemistry of Surfaces, Wiley, New York, USA, p. 625, 1997.
Chen, C.-C. and Cheng, H.-C.: Effects of charge and size on condensation of supersaturated water vapor on nanoparticles of SiO2, J. Chem. Phys., 126, 034701, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2424707, 2007.
Chen, C.-C. and Tao, C.-J.: Condensation of supersaturated water vapor on submicrometer particles of SiO2 and TiO2, J. Chem. Phys., 112, 9967–9977, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1063/1.481633, 2000.
Chen, C.-C., Guo, M.-S., Tsai, Y.-J., and Huang, C.-C.: Heterogeneous nucleation of water vapor on submicrometer particles of SiC, SiO2, and naphthalene, J. Colloid Interf. Sci., 198, 354–367, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1006/jcis.1997.5298, 1998.
Chen, C.-C., Huang, C.-C., and Tao, C.-J.: Heterogeneous nucleation of n-butanol vapor on submicrometer particles of SiO2 and TiO2, J. Colloid Interf. Sci., 211, 193–203, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1006/jcis.1998.6007, 1999.
Download

The requested paper has a corresponding corrigendum published. Please read the corrigendum first before downloading the article.

Short summary
Heterogeneous nucleation is a phenomenon that starts the condensation of supersaturated vapours on solid surfaces. An example is the formation of cirrus clouds in the atmosphere: their formation is often triggered at relative humidities clearly above 100%. We derive a new theory that can be used to calculate the threshold supersaturation of heterogeneous nucleation of water vapour on nanoparticles and show that it performs significantly better than older theories when compared to lab experiment.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint