Articles | Volume 19, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2933-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2933-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Technical note
| 
07 Mar 2019
Technical note |
| 07 Mar 2019
| 07 Mar 2019
Technical note: The role of evolving surface tension in the formation of cloud droplets
James F. Davies
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Chemistry, University of California Riverside CA, USA
Andreas Zuend
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Kevin R. Wilson
Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Berkeley CA, USA
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44 citations as recorded by crossref.
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- Surface-Area-to-Volume Ratio Determines Surface Tensions in Microscopic, Surfactant-Containing Droplets A. Bain et al. 10.1021/acscentsci.3c00998
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- Aerosol Hygroscopicity and Surface-Active Coverage for the Droplet Growth of Aerosol Mixtures N. Ferdousi-Rokib et al. 10.1021/acsestair.4c00303
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- A Machine Learning Approach for Predicting the Pure-Component Surface Tension of Atmospherically Relevant Organic Compounds R. Schmedding et al. 10.1021/acsestair.4c00291
- Optical trapping and light scattering in atmospheric aerosol science A. Rafferty et al. 10.1039/D2CP05301B
- Experimental phase diagram and its temporal evolution for submicron 2-methylglutaric acid and ammonium sulfate aerosol particles Q. Huang et al. 10.1039/D3CP04411D
- Exploring How the Surface-Area-to-Volume Ratio Influences the Partitioning of Surfactants to the Air–Water Interface in Levitated Microdroplets M. Jacobs et al. 10.1021/acs.jpca.4c06210
- Comparison of six approaches to predicting droplet activation of surface active aerosol – Part 2: Strong surfactants S. Vepsäläinen et al. 10.5194/acp-23-15149-2023
- Liquid–liquid phase separation and viscosity within secondary organic aerosol generated from diesel fuel vapors M. Song et al. 10.5194/acp-19-12515-2019
- Hygroscopic growth and CCN activity of secondary organic aerosol produced from dark ozonolysis of γ-terpinene H. Bouzidi et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153010
- Surface tension predictions during hygroscopic growth and cloud droplet activation using a simple kinetic surfactant partitioning model E. Werner et al. 10.1080/02786826.2025.2465705
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- Impact of Bulk-Phase Self-Assembly on Growth and Activation of Aqueous Surfactant Aerosol S. Vepsäläinen & N. Prisle 10.1021/acs.est.4c11584
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44 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Atomic Force Microscopy: An Emerging Tool in Measuring the Phase State and Surface Tension of Individual Aerosol Particles H. Lee & A. Tivanski 10.1146/annurev-physchem-090419-110133
- Surface-Area-to-Volume Ratio Determines Surface Tensions in Microscopic, Surfactant-Containing Droplets A. Bain et al. 10.1021/acscentsci.3c00998
- Theoretical framework for measuring cloud effective supersaturation fluctuations with an advanced optical system Y. Kuang et al. 10.5194/acp-25-1163-2025
- Measuring the Surface Tension of Atmospheric Particles and Relevant Mixtures to Better Understand Key Atmospheric Processes M. El Haber et al. 10.1021/acs.chemrev.4c00173
- Aerosol Hygroscopicity and Surface-Active Coverage for the Droplet Growth of Aerosol Mixtures N. Ferdousi-Rokib et al. 10.1021/acsestair.4c00303
- The role of interfacial tension in the size-dependent phase separation of atmospheric aerosol particles R. Schmedding & A. Zuend 10.5194/acp-25-327-2025
- A Machine Learning Approach for Predicting the Pure-Component Surface Tension of Atmospherically Relevant Organic Compounds R. Schmedding et al. 10.1021/acsestair.4c00291
- Optical trapping and light scattering in atmospheric aerosol science A. Rafferty et al. 10.1039/D2CP05301B
- Experimental phase diagram and its temporal evolution for submicron 2-methylglutaric acid and ammonium sulfate aerosol particles Q. Huang et al. 10.1039/D3CP04411D
- Exploring How the Surface-Area-to-Volume Ratio Influences the Partitioning of Surfactants to the Air–Water Interface in Levitated Microdroplets M. Jacobs et al. 10.1021/acs.jpca.4c06210
- Comparison of six approaches to predicting droplet activation of surface active aerosol – Part 2: Strong surfactants S. Vepsäläinen et al. 10.5194/acp-23-15149-2023
- Liquid–liquid phase separation and viscosity within secondary organic aerosol generated from diesel fuel vapors M. Song et al. 10.5194/acp-19-12515-2019
- Hygroscopic growth and CCN activity of secondary organic aerosol produced from dark ozonolysis of γ-terpinene H. Bouzidi et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153010
- Surface tension predictions during hygroscopic growth and cloud droplet activation using a simple kinetic surfactant partitioning model E. Werner et al. 10.1080/02786826.2025.2465705
- Relative-humidity-dependent organic aerosol thermodynamics via an efficient reduced-complexity model K. Gorkowski et al. 10.5194/acp-19-13383-2019
- Water activity and surface tension of aqueous ammonium sulfate and D-glucose aerosol nanoparticles E. Mikhailov et al. 10.5194/acp-24-2971-2024
- A thermodynamic framework for bulk–surface partitioning in finite-volume mixed organic–inorganic aerosol particles and cloud droplets R. Schmedding & A. Zuend 10.5194/acp-23-7741-2023
- Surfactant control of interfacial reaction rates in aqueous microdroplets A. Prophet et al. 10.1039/D5CP01573A
- Impact of Bulk-Phase Self-Assembly on Growth and Activation of Aqueous Surfactant Aerosol S. Vepsäläinen & N. Prisle 10.1021/acs.est.4c11584
- Hygroscopicity and CCN Activity of Water‐Soluble Extracts From the Arctic Aerosols in Winter to Early Summer K. Kawana et al. 10.1029/2021JD035979
- Comparison of six approaches to predicting droplet activation of surface active aerosol – Part 1: moderately surface active organics S. Vepsäläinen et al. 10.5194/acp-22-2669-2022
- Physicochemical Mixing State of Sea Spray Aerosols: Morphologies Exhibit Size Dependence H. Lee et al. 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.0c00153
- Testing a Paul trap through determining the evaporation rate of levitated single semi-volatile organic droplets A. Valenzuela et al. 10.1364/OE.410590
- Current State of Atmospheric Aerosol Thermodynamics and Mass Transfer Modeling: A Review K. Semeniuk & A. Dastoor 10.3390/atmos11020156
- Evidence of Surface-Tension Lowering of Atmospheric Aerosols by Organics from Field Observations in an Urban Atmosphere: Relation to Particle Size and Chemical Composition T. Fan et al. 10.1021/acs.est.4c03141
- The impact of aerosol size-dependent hygroscopicity and mixing state on the cloud condensation nuclei potential over the north-east Atlantic W. Xu et al. 10.5194/acp-21-8655-2021
- A predictive thermodynamic framework of cloud droplet activation for chemically unresolved aerosol mixtures, including surface tension, non-ideality, and bulk–surface partitioning N. Prisle 10.5194/acp-21-16387-2021
- Calculating and fitting morphology-dependent resonances of a spherical particle with a concentric spherical shell B. Vennes & T. Preston 10.1364/JOSAA.36.002089
- Effects of liquid–liquid phase separation and relative humidity on the heterogeneous OH oxidation of inorganic–organic aerosols: insights from methylglutaric acid and ammonium sulfate particles H. Lam et al. 10.5194/acp-21-2053-2021
- Explosive formation of secondary organic aerosol due to aerosol-fog interactions L. Jia et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161338
- Viscosity and liquid–liquid phase separation in healthy and stressed plant SOA N. Smith et al. 10.1039/D0EA00020E
- Optical deformation of single aerosol particles A. Rafferty et al. 10.1073/pnas.1907687116
- Hygroscopic behavior of inorganic–organic aerosol systems including ammonium sulfate, dicarboxylic acids, and oligomer H. Bouzidi et al. 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117481
- Does liquid–liquid phase separation impact ice nucleation in mixed polyethylene glycol and ammonium sulfate droplets? Y. Yao et al. 10.1039/D2CP04407B
- Optical deformation of homogeneous and core-shell spherical particles B. Vennes & T. Preston 10.1103/PhysRevA.101.063812
- Hygroscopicity of secondary marine organic aerosols: Mixtures of alkylammonium salts and inorganic components B. Asadzadeh et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148131
- Extension of the AIOMFAC model by iodine and carbonate species: applications for aerosol acidity and cloud droplet activation H. Yin et al. 10.5194/acp-22-973-2022
- Constraining the Effect of Surfactants on the Hygroscopic Growth of Model Sea Spray Aerosol Particles R. Bramblett & A. Frossard 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c04539
- The surface tension and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation of sea spray aerosol particles J. Kleinheins et al. 10.5194/acp-25-881-2025
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- Size-Dependent Nascent Sea Spray Aerosol Bounce Fractions and Estimated Viscosity: The Role of Divalent Cation Enrichment, Surface Tension, and the Kelvin Effect P. Tumminello et al. 10.1021/acs.est.4c04312
- Chemical Fate of Particulate Sulfur from Nighttime Oxidation of Thiophene M. Lum et al. 10.1021/acsestair.4c00164
- The surface tension of surfactant-containing, finite volume droplets B. Bzdek et al. 10.1073/pnas.1915660117
Latest update: 29 Jul 2025
Short summary
The formation of cloud droplets involves the condensation of water onto preexisting particles in the atmosphere. The efficiency of this process depends on the nature of the particles, and recent work has shown that organic-rich particles may exhibit a suppressed surface tension that promotes the formation of cloud droplets. In this technical note, we discuss the mechanism for this and highlight the evolution of surface tension as the key factor in the extent of surface effects.
The formation of cloud droplets involves the condensation of water onto preexisting particles in...
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